Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 March 2021
477. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the reports from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage will be provided for each of the four Dublin local authorities; the number of structures and buildings that have been listed for protection or deselected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16805/21]
View answerMy functions as Minister with regard to the protection of our architectural heritage are set out in the Planning and Development Acts, as are the responsibilities of local authorities and owners. Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, gives primary responsibility to planning authorities to identify and protect the architectural heritage by including particular structures on the Record of Protected Structures (RPS).
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) was established by the Architectural Heritage (National Inventory) and Historic Monuments (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1999. Its purpose is to identify, record, and evaluate the post-1700 architectural heritage of Ireland as an aid in its protection.
Under Section 53 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, I may recommend structures given a Regional, National or International Rating by the NIAH to the elected members of the local authorities for their consideration for inclusion on the RPS in the development plan. The final decision as to inclusion of a building or structure on the RPS, however, is a reserved function of the relevant planning authority. I do not recommend structures for removal from the RPS.
The NIAH has carried out fieldwork in the four Dublin local authority administrative areas: Fingal, South Dublin, Dublin City and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
The fieldwork for Fingal was completed in 2000 and 664 structures were recommended by the then-Minister to the elected members of Fingal County Council on 21 March 2003.
The fieldwork for South Dublin was completed in 2002 and 788 structures were recommended by the then-Minister to the elected members of South Dublin County Council on 15 November 2002.
The fieldwork for Dublin City is ongoing. To date, 3,967 structures were recommended by the then-Minister to the elected members of Dublin City Council. The recommendations were made on 4 June 2014, 14 September 2015 and 12 June 2018.
The fieldwork for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown is ongoing. To date, 383 structures were recommended by the then-Minister to the elected members of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The recommendations were made on 14 September 2015 and 9 August 2017.
Recommendations arising from these surveys are made available to the local authorities as a PDF report and a digital dataset. The individual records are also published, and are available to view for free, on the NIAH website: www.buildingsofireland.ie.
