Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 May 2023
392. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of prosecutions made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 in the past ten years; and the number of convictions that resulted from prosecutions in the same period. [25892/23]
View answerThe National Monuments Service reports significant damage to national monuments to An Garda Siochána when considered appropriate. However, the decision to proceed to refer these cases (or not) to the Director of Public Prosecutions is a matter for An Garda Siochána. My Department is aware of 6 prosecutions which all resulted in convictions over the last ten years.
It is worth noting that the vast majority of monuments in Ireland are on privately owned farmland and farmers are important custodians of our archaeological heritage. A key priority of the National Monuments Service of my Department is to ensure future protection of monuments by working closely with landowners.
