Ms Rosemary Collier:

We concur with our colleagues in the Heritage Council about those provisions in the Bill bringing clarity. As I said in my opening statement, we are clear about what is in the remit of the commissioners. There is confusing about the designation and status of sites and maybe about where responsibility lies. We would welcome the same provisions in the Bill as the Heritage Council. That clarity will be important for the sector and citizens.

I included a note in my opening statement about the day-to-day operations which we think will be clarified for the commissioners. Under the Bill, the operation of national monuments owned by or in the guardianship of the Minister will be the statutory responsibility of the commissioner. This means that the commissioners will have clear powers and a specific role under the Bill. This contrasts with the position under the current legislation where there is no express reference to the commissioners and where day-to-day operations are technically vested in the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The commissioners are clearly vested with statutory responsibility in the Bill. That clarity is welcome.

Regarding fines or the fixed payment notice system, we will be interested to see how the Bill progresses. This is a new provision and we need to work through what that means and how it can be made operational in our work. We will be interested to see how it progresses. It will take us some time to work through the implications of that and how best to implement it. We feel that if it is judiciously applied, it could be useful in the protection of the monuments. There is a civic desire for protection of our national heritage and how we want visitors and the public to engage with our national heritage. If it is applied judiciously, it will serve that function.

There are provisions in the Bill relating to the powers of the Minister to offer guidance about environmental impact assessments and historic heritage, as well as guidance to agencies about historic heritage. The clarification about that and the relevant powers will be useful. All boats are rising for heritage with these standards and the quality of guidance that agencies have to work to and be mindful of when caring for and engaging with our national heritage estate. Those are the key points from the perspective of the Office of Public Works.