Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and Minister of State for their presentations and for engaging with us this afternoon and I thank their officials. The living cities initiative is welcome and appears to have worked quite well in Limerick and Waterford during its pilot phase. The initiative will now be extended to other urban centres, but will the Minister elaborate on the criteria the Department has laid down for selection of urban centres. Is it based on scale, on population or on other factors?

In regard to UNESCO world heritage sites, we would all welcome the inclusion of some of the sites mentioned today on the tentative list. I am aware Monasterboice in my constituency is included in the list of monastic sites. Will the Minister inform us of the current status of the list? This process has been going on for a considerable number of years, but it is not clear what the obstacles are in terms of advancing designation. The Minister mentioned fears that have been communicated to him - I have heard similar concerns - from individuals concerned by the planning implications in terms of designation of a world heritage site. To be frank, the value and richness of our cultural heritage should take priority over some of these concerns, some of which may not be entirely legitimate. It would be helpful if we could alleviate those concerns in some way. Are these concerns contributing to the delay in designation of these sites or to the delay in advancing these projects to the next phase?

In page 29 of the document, the Minister referred to the decade of centenaries and stated that priority will be given to a limited number of capital projects acknowledging the Easter Rising and the birth of the Republic. Will the Minister re-apprise the committee of the particular projects involved? On page 31, reference is made to an updated management plan for the Brú na Bóinne world heritage site. What kind of improvements does the Minister envisage will stem from this and where does he see these improvements happening in terms of management of the site?

I would like to refer to the Limerick city of culture initiative. We are all agreed an initiative of this nature is very important for developing Irish culture, in the context of recognising the contribution that practitioners in particular areas make. Generally there is a positive contribution, economically, socially and culturally to any area that receives such a designation.

Does the Minister agree it would be more open and transparent from the start to have towns or cities engage in a competitive public call for expressions of interest for such a mantle? This would be a more positive way to approach such an initiative. It seems we are determined to award city of culture designation to other cities and towns in the coming years. That would be positive, but we should have a competitive process to ensure the playing pitch is level and seen to be so. It is also critical that we have a higher proportion of practitioners and artists involved in the process from the outset if it is to be given the legitimacy it should have. I would appreciate the comments of the Minister on this point. If we are to pursue the initiative again which is, by and large, positive, I would like to see a commitment from the Minister and the Department that it will be an open process, with public calls for expressions of interest in participating in such a scheme.