Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Donnelly. The Chairman also asked about information on the sites of national monuments. I was in County Cavan last week with Deputy Niamh Smyth and it was incredible to see the work that local communities have done on their interpretation of the local heritage and monuments, particularly graveyards and church sites. Funding is available under the community monuments fund, stream 3 of which is concerned with interpretation. We encourage communities to be a part of that. There was useful and simple graphic signage and useful interpretation panels at some of the sites in Cavan. They were not overly scripted but very useful for visitors.

The Chairman also made points about the heritage buildings and walking trails in my county of Kilkenny. Much of that was developed over many years with support from the local development company, the Kilkenny LEADER partnership, particularly around the Lingaun Valley and places like that. There are heritage trails and walking trails. There is a trails officer in place in Kilkenny. I would see the interpretation of these sites as being mostly local initiatives. I am not sure if Mr. MacDonagh would agree or how he would respond to that specific issue but there are good examples all over the country.