Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 12 Jul 1990

Vol. 401 No. 6

Written Answers. - Religious Ceremonies.

Charles Flanagan

Ceist:

114 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if he will amend the Irish Church (Disestablishment) Act, 1869, to allow for the holding of religious ceremonies, from time to time as the Commissioners for Public Works may deem appropriate at premises being former places of public worship which have been designated national monuments; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Finance (Mr. A. Reynolds)

Under section 25 of the Irish Church Act, 1869, provision was made for the Commissioners of Church Temporalities in Ireland, to vest any church, ecclesiastical building or structure, which appeared ruinous and not suitable for restoration as a place of public worship, and yet deserving of being maintained as a national monument by reason of its architectural character or antiquity, in the Secretary of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, to be held by such secretary, his heirs and assigns, upon trust for the Commissioners of Public Works, to be preserved as a national monument and not to be used as a place of worship.

It was as a result of this Act that the Commissioners of Public Works were given their first collection of national monuments. The Commissioners of Church Temporalities also provided a sum of £50,000 to the Commissioners of Public Works for the maintenance of the vested structures.

The definition of "monument" under the National Monuments Acts, 1930-1987 excludes any building which is used habitually for ecclesiastical purposes so there is a consistency between these Acts and the Irish Church Act, 1869. I am advised that the latter Act does not preclude the holding of occasional religious services at the monuments transferred under that Act and there is no intention of having it amended.

Charles Flanagan

Ceist:

115 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if he will outline the circumstances under which a German priest was refused permission by the Office of Public Works to celebrate Mass at Clonmacnoise, County Offaly.

Minister for Finance (Mr. A. Reynolds)

The Office of Public Works have no record of an application from a German priest for permission to celebrate Mass at Clonmacnoise, this year.

The Deputy may be referring to an inquiry made at Clonmacnoise on 27 May 1990 on behalf of a foreign priest as to whether it would be possible to celebrate Mass on the national monument site. The person was advised that permission to celebrate Mass at the permanent altar on the site is usually given by the Office of Public Works provided a number of conditions are complied with, including one requiring the permission be obtained in advance from the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise to celebrate Mass there. The commissioners also require to be indemnified against all liability arising from the use of the site, and evidence of insurance cover has to be produced in advance. These were the conditions upon which the Office of Public Works granted permission to the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association to celebrate Mass at Clonmacnoise on that particular day. As this procedure had not been followed by the foreign priest it was not feasible to accommodate his service on that day and this was accepted by the person concerned.