Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 May 2022
173. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason that the applications for the collapsing graveyard wall at Darver and for ongoing conservation work on Drogheda’s town wall at Featherbed Lane were unsuccessful through the Community Monuments Funds 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21672/22]
View answerThe core objective of the Community Monuments Fund is to support the conservation, maintenance, protection and promotion of local monuments and historic sites. It contains a number of different measures aimed at enabling conservation works to be carried out on archaeological monuments which are deemed to be significant and in need of urgent support, encouraging access to archaeological monuments and improving their presentation and also building resilience in archaeological monuments to enable them to withstand the effects of climate change.
The Community Monuments Fund invests essential capital in our valuable archaeological heritage and helps owners and custodians of archaeological monuments to safeguard them into the future for the benefit of communities and the public.
My Department received 203 applications under the Community Monuments Fund for 2022 and all of these were assessed on their merits. I'm delighted to confirm that 128 awards were granted to a value of just under €6m.
Three of the Louth County Council applications were successful this year, Glaspistol Castle, Cill Mhuire and the Drogheda Town Wall, indeed, Glaspistol Castle received the maximum award of €100,000. Officials in my Department are available to give feedback to unsuccessful applicants in order that they may submit an improved application for next year's scheme. I hope to announce details of this scheme later this year.
