Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State's recent visit to Howth and Aideen's Grave in particular. He had the privilege of seeing at first hand the beauty of the area and its biodiversity and heritage importance. Aideen's Grave is a culturally significant neolithic dolmen located in Howth. It dates to around 2,500 BC. It comprises two portal stones of approximately 2.5 m in height, a collapsed door stone and a colossal roof stone measuring 5 m by 4 m and 2 m in depth. The roof stone still rests on the upper edge of the portals above the collapsed chamber. It is the second-largest dolmen in Ireland. Only Brownshill Dolmen, County Carlow, is larger.

Since ownership changed in 2019, there have been ongoing concerns about access to Howth estate and Aideen's Grave arising from the erection of a significant amount of fencing and the denial of access to the dolmen to an estimated 14,000 people who took part in organised visits to Howth in 2023 alone. That number includes some local community groups. Last year, the Howth access group wrote to Fingal County Council and the owners of the estate to request a discussion on recognising long-established routes as official rights of way. The letter was co-signed by multiple active local community organisations. The request was not agreed to by the landowners.

It is positive that the Minister of State has visited the site, but what is he going to do on foot of that visit to ensure that public access to this important part of our heritage is protected? Will he ensure that Aideen’s Grave is designated as a national monument and will he write to Fingal County Council, as provided for under section 89(5) of the Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, and request that it use its powers under sections 206 and 207 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 to establish rights of way through the Howth estate in order to protect and vindicate the public’s right to access the dolmen for current and future generations?

It is great that heritage like this is valued by the local community and the Minister of State, but in order to protect it and vindicate the public’s right of access, we are required to act. Otherwise, we will see a diminishing of that access. We have already seen how 14,000 people on organised groups in 2023 alone who would previously have been able to access the site were unable to access it. That is regressive and requires all of us, including the Minister of State, to act. I look forward to hearing what he has to say.

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