Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of amendment No. 218 is to require the Minister to consult people in the communities most affected by the potential inclusion of a site on the world heritage list. This is to ensure democratic participation and local community activism in heritage protection. We believe this is in line with Article 15 of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The purpose of amendment No. 219 is to require the Minister to act consistently with the intangible cultural heritage convention when performing functions related to world heritage sites. The convention states that each state party shall endeavour to ensure the widest possible participation of community groups and, where appropriate, individuals who create, maintain and transmit such heritage and to involve them actively in its management. It has a similar intent to the previous amendment.

In amendment No. 220, we propose to require the Minister to include 14 specific properties or ensembles of properties on the inventory for consideration as world heritage sites. They are listed but the wording would not limit it only to these sites and others could be added subsequently.