Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 November 2017
55. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the degree to which she continues to support, maintain, preserve and promote heritage sites throughout the country with particular reference to the need to ensure that nothing is lost that can be preserved for future generations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47885/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy role, as Minister, with regard to the protection and management of our heritage, is set out in the provisions of relevant legislation, as are the role of local authorities and the responsibilities of owners as regards heritage assets.
Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, provides for the protection of architectural heritage. The Act gives primary responsibility to planning authorities to identify and protect the architectural heritage by including relevant structures on the Record of Protected Structures. Inclusion on the Record of Protected Structures places a duty of care on the owners and occupiers of protected structures and also gives planning authorities powers to deal with development proposals affecting them and to seek to safeguard their future.
Financial support is provided by my Department through a number of structured schemes for the conservation and protection of heritage buildings. These schemes are administered via the local authorities and include the Built Heritage Investment Scheme and the Structures at Risk Fund.
Under the provisions of the National Monuments Acts 1930-2014, my Department has established and maintains the Record of Monuments and Places, which affords legal protection to over 120,000 recorded archaeological sites and monuments in the State. Anyone proposing works to a monument that is included in the Record of Monuments and Places must give my Department two months prior notice before works can start.
As Minister, I am the owner or guardian under the National Monuments Acts of approximately 1,000 national monuments located at approximately 750 sites and in such cases there is a statutory duty to maintain the national monument. Such maintenance is undertaken by the Office of Public Works. Local authorities are responsible under the National Monuments Acts for maintaining the national monuments of which they are owners or guardians.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department manages an extensive conservation and recreational property portfolio of some 79,000 hectares. Our 6 National Parks account for circa 60,000 hectares with another almost 20,000 hectares of nature reserves and other heritage sites.
While the existing National Parks are managed from a conservation perspective, they also play a very important role in Ireland’s tourism industry. To that end, we have been exploring ways to optimise the sustainable tourism potential of heritage sites under our control in a way that is compatible with conservation objectives. My Department, in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland, launched a strategic investment partnership earlier this year with the aim of developing tourism projects and improving visitor experience at our National Parks.
The Heritage Council, which my Department funds, also provides grants for the protection and preservation of heritage. It is primarily a matter for the Heritage Council to decide how its funding should be allocated across the range of research, education and conservation programmes it supports annually, having regard to competing priorities for limited resources. Grant schemes are advertised by the Heritage Council on its website www.heritagecouncil.ie.
