Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for bringing forward this very good amendment. The Minister of State said he will not go further than the pre-legislative scrutiny report on this. That is entirely reasonable. Recommendation 3 of the pre-legislative scrutiny report states that the National Monuments Advisory Council, as constituted in the original legislation, be re-established and that the Bill provide for an obligation to consult with the Heritage Council and the National Monuments Advisory Council where changes in the level of protection are proposed for a monument, where it is proposed to remove a monument from the register, namely, demolish it, and where works may cause damage to a monument with special protection. The recommendation aligns strongly with this amendment from Deputy Ó Snodaigh. The Minister of State said he will not go further than the recommendations contained in the pre-legislative scrutiny report. Therefore, it would follow that he will accept and support this amendment if he is happy with the recommendations in the pre-legislative scrutiny report.

Last week, I asked about the resources of the Heritage Council. The Minister of State was not able to tell me how many historians and archaeologists are employed by the Heritage Council. He has had a week to obtain these facts and statistics. He might provide the committee with that information now.