Dr. Martina Moloney:

Regarding the Moore Street situation, I understand where the Deputy is coming from. As he has identified, a planning application is currently active. The Heritage Council does on occasion engage with the planning process. While the Heritage Council’s resources are meagre, we try to make the best value out of our resources by contributing to the forward planning processes. In particular instances, we will make observations on individual planning applications.

I will move on to talk about the local heritage officers. I mentioned in my opening statement that I was involved in the appointment of the first heritage officers nationally, in Galway city. It has been one of the great successes, because it has contributed greatly to the work of local authorities by bringing in that additional expertise. We have recently reviewed the heritage officer programme. I am happy to say that there is a heritage officer now in place in every local authority. That is a major step forward for us. It helps the Heritage Council to reach into every community in Ireland. It helps the communities by having that fantastic resource of skilled individuals available to them. It helps the community to identify their precise priorities through the development of local heritage plans and, indeed, through the engagement with local heritage fora. Like everything else, there are always opportunities for review and improvement. The Heritage Council recently carried out a review of the heritage officer programme in association with the County and City Management Association, CCMA. There are a few recommendations, which we will be moving forward to implement in the new year, around continuing to strengthen the role of heritage officer within, and embed it further within, the local government structures, to ensure that the role is embedded throughout the local authority, and to re-engage with the heritage fora and heritage plan. I appreciate that has been a challenge during Covid-19, but perhaps it is time to revisit that. We also provide support to our cadre of heritage officers with continued support and training in the new areas of expertise that are continuing to emerge in the heritage field.