Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Total funding of more than €54 million has been made available for my Department's heritage programme area in 2019. This includes €38.7 million allocated for current expenditure and €15.4 million for capital expenditure. Total gross heritage programme expenditure up to the period ending 30 June 2019 was just under €10 million. This figure had increased to just over €13 million, as at 31 August 2019. The rate of expenditure is slower than anticipated due to a number of timing issues which it is expected will be resolved before the year end.

Ireland's first national biodiversity conference took place at Dublin Castle in February of this year, and attracted more than 500 delegates and 4,500 live streamers. Jointly organised by my Department and the Irish Forum on Natural Capital, the event brought together all key stakeholders from Government, public bodies, business and non-governmental organisations, NGOs, to identify measures to help reverse biodiversity loss and implement the National Biodiversity Action Plan 2017 to 2021. The momentum generated by the conference was sustained by the publication of the interactive report from the conference by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department on 22 May last, which was International Day for Biological Diversity. The report details the conference charter, Seeds for Nature, which includes a suite of commitments from 14 Departments, State agencies, businesses and NGOs that go above and beyond current work programmes to take action for nature and support the implementation of the National Biodiversity Action Plan 2017 to 2021.

The work of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department continued apace in 2019, with responsibility for the ongoing management of some 87,000 ha across our national parks and nature reserve network. Annually, these parks and reserves attract 4 million visitors and support a broad range of enterprise and employment opportunities for the communities in which they are located. A new twinning arrangement has been established between the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Parks Canada to connect Connemara National Park and the Marconi Station in Ireland, respectively, with Terra Nova National Park and Signal Hill national historical site in Newfoundland and Labrador. The twinning arrangement will promote bilateral co-operation and exchanges for the mutual benefit of these national parks and historical sites, which have an important role in habitat protection and the conservation of iconic species, as well as in cultural heritage of both countries. Connemara National Park is set for major development in the coming years, largely due to significant funding from Fáilte Ireland and the twinning arrangement. This park has seen an increase in visitor numbers this year of nearly 5% from last year and the visitor centre is to remain open all year around for the first time ever this year in response to its increased popularity. His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, again enjoyed the magnificence of our national parks this year when he visited Wicklow Mountains National Park in May. Wicklow Mountains National Park is Ireland's largest national park, covering more than 22,000 ha of the Wicklow uplands, comprising mainly bog and heath with smaller areas of native woodland and mountain streams.

Our historical buildings and structures remain a vital part of our unique heritage. While the primary responsibility to care for and maintain our built heritage structures rests with the owner, the built heritage investment scheme and the structures at risk fund funded by my Department and administered by local authorities, invest essential capital in our built heritage. A total of 478 heritage projects across every county will benefit from a combined €4.3 million under this year's historic structures fund, HSF, and built heritage investment scheme, BHIS. The funding will support the owners and custodians of historical and protected structures as they carry out hundreds of small-scale, labour-intensive projects to repair and conserve our historical built environment. These projects provide vital support for local jobs in conservation, traditional skills and construction.

The Heritage Council is once again working in partnership with the Department to administer the historic towns initiative in 2019. Six historic towns will share in €1 million in capital funding in 2019, supporting programmes of heritage-led regeneration and bringing economic benefits to help historic towns to prosper through increased visitor numbers and decreased numbers of vacant buildings and commercial premises. All of these initiatives will work towards ensuring that historical buildings remain alive and in use so that they are ultimately handed on to future generations in better condition than we found them. I am happy to expand on any issues members wish to raise in respect of this programme area before my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Kyne, speaks about the relevant aspects of the Gaeltacht, Irish language and islands programme area.