Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The heritage area has been transferred to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, that is, back to the Custom House. It is now directly related to local government, which is a positive move because there is so much interaction at local government level through planning or the heritage officers. Heritage ranges from the natural heritage to the cultural heritage to the built heritage. Getting the information our there with regard to the level and type of work being done by the council is a challenge. There are many people with whom Deputies engage through their work who will tell us they have no idea what we do. Getting the message out is a constant challenge. I am particularly interested in hearing how the town centre collaborative health checks feed into the Town Centre First policy objectives. I was involved in the town centre health check in my town. I ask the witnesses to comment on whether the plan is to roll out this initiative nationally to develop that baseline of information.