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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 23 Mar 1999

Vol. 502 No. 3

Written Answers. - National Monuments.

John McGuinness

Ceist:

482 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if her Department has carried out an inspection of Talbot Tower, Kilkenny, to determine its condition; the immediate works which are required to make the monument safe; the proposals, if any, she has for the future development of the monument; the timeframe involved; the ownership of the arch and bastion on a nearby site and if this section will be taken into ownership by her Department; the intention, if any, of her Department to arrange an archaeological excavation of the full site in this area and give public access to Sallyport Arch; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7830/99]

Phil Hogan

Ceist:

487 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if she will establish the ownership of the arch and bastion around the Talbot Tower, Patrick Street, Kilkenny; if she will commission an archaeological excavation of this site with a view to declaring this important area as a a national monument in view of its historical association with the original walls of the city; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7873/99]

Tógfaidh mé Ceisteanna Uimh. 482 agus Uimh. 487 le chéile.

Although the Talbot Tower is an important national monument, it is not in my care and I have no proposals, therefore, to carry out either safety or future developmental works there. However, I will arrange to have the tower inspected to determine its current condition and my officials will liaise with the local authority in this regard.

The Talbot Tower together with the arch and bastion are situated within the zone of archaeological potential for Kilkenny and, as such, are included in the Record of Monuments and Places for County Kilkenny under section 12 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1994. This denotes the importance of the monuments and requires that the owners or occupiers of a monument must give me two months notice of their intention to carry out any work at or in relation to the monument.

I am unable to confirm the ownership of the arch and bastion site but I have no proposals to take that site into my care, nor do I have any plans to arrange an archaeological excavation of it. For the Deputies' information, I am advised by Dúchas that the arch is not a Sallyport arch, but a later feature.
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