Following the announcement in April this year that a capital funding stream will be available to the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for National Monuments, the review of spending priorities within the National Monuments estate has begun with a view to determining which Monuments need to be addressed by the OPW and the extent to which funding support can be made available by the Department. This process will be ongoing on a continuing basis as needs evolve and future annual work programmes are determined.
Although the initial phase of this assessment is still ongoing, it has been determined that it will be likely that investment will focus in the first instance on conservation needs as a priority and, in particular, those structures most at risk of either damage or loss of historic fabric, together with certain strategic acquisitions. In this context, the allocation of funds to a phase 2 project at Maynooth, while it has not been specifically considered as yet, would not be considered a high priority and it is considered doubtful that it would be selected to advance.