Vol. 488 No. 4
256 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if, in view of the danger posed to national monuments, including an 18th century abbey and mines at Abbeytown, Ballisodare, County Sligo, an inspector from her Department will investigate the site and ensure laws in relation to preservation of, and public access to, the monuments are complied with. [6121/98]
The medieval abbey, at Abbeytown, Ballisodare is situated within an area of industrial activity which has been ongoing for a number of years. A preservation order was placed on the abbey in 1994 to ensure that no actual interference with the abbey could take place and Dúchas, the heritage service of my Department, has been monitoring the effects of the industrial activity on the monument. As the abbey is not in State ownership, public access is at the discretion of the landowners concerned. Officials of my Department will continue to monitor the situation to ensure compliance with the provisions of the preservation order.
