Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 April 2015
903. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of her Department's application to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, to have the Hill of Uisneach in Killare, Mullingar, County Westmeath, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14122/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUNESCO sets out a formal process for State signatories to the World Heritage Convention to nominate properties for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The nomination process is initiated by the State authorities drawing up a Tentative List of what they consider to be the most important heritage sites within their national boundaries. A particular criterion is that a site must be considered to be of outstanding universal value, defined by UNESCO as meaning of “cultural and or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity.”
“The Royal Sites of Ireland”, made up of Cashel, Dún Ailinne, the Rathcroghan Complex, the Tara Complex, Eamhan Macha and the Hill of Uisneach, is included in Ireland's current Tentative List. Having a nomination progressed from the Tentative List to inscription by UNESCO on the World Heritage List is a very substantial undertaking that requires the development of a comprehensive management plan, full agreement with local interests, significant local authority actions and support and, finally, production of highly detailed nomination documents.
In the case of the “The Royal Sites of Ireland”, initial technical evaluation reports have been produced by the local authorities in relation to each of the sites involved with a view to assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each component of the overall set. My Department has arranged for an expert examination of the technical evaluations and, assuming a positive outcome from that process, the next steps will involve developing management plans for each site and the identification of core and buffer zones in each case. There will be local consultation at every stage with a view ultimately to the creation of full nomination documents for submission to UNESCO for evaluation and approval.
