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

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus leis an gcoiste. I welcome the opportunity to discuss with the committee the Estimate for 2024 in the areas of nature, heritage and electoral reform.

The National Monuments Service, the built heritage programmes and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, are an integral part of what the Department delivers on behalf of the people. These divisions are active, through their dedicated staff, in every part of the country, in preserving and protecting our natural and built heritage for the benefit of present and future generations. Funding for our heritage programme has increased to €166 million in 2024, representing an 8.5% increase on 2023. I will outline some examples of how this funding is used across the heritage division.

As we all know, Ireland is known around the world for its wonderful biodiversity and natural heritage connected to our marine waters. With this in mind, we joined other State-owned properties at Sceilg Mhichíl, Inishtearaght, na Blascaodaí, Derrynane and Valencia Island, together with the waters at Kerry Head shoals, around an Sceilg, na Blascaodaí and Puffin Island, to form Ireland’s eighth national park; Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí. The creation marks a momentous milestone in Ireland’s commitment to preserve the beauty and biodiversity of our oceans while fostering economic development and prosperity in our community. Building on the Brú na Bóinne National Park, this is our eighth national park. The NPWS is also expanding its role in tackling wildlife crime, with new directorates and boots on the ground, to address the biodiversity crisis.

I was delighted to be in Omeath on 4 June to see the start of construction of the Narrow Water Bridge project. In linking the Mourne Mountains in County Down with the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth, this bridge will serve not just as a physical infrastructure project but a symbol of community, togetherness and hope. It is funded from the shared island fund and embodies the vision, values and purpose of that fund perfectly.

I am delighted to say that the National Monuments Service and the national built heritage service have this year awarded €17 million to 810 different projects throughout the country. These come under our built heritage investment scheme's historical structures fund and community monuments fund. This investment will help keep our monuments and traditional buildings in good repair, reduce carbon emissions from unnecessary new construction, and enhance the amenity of our cities, towns, villages, and countryside. These are truly transformative grant schemes.

Funding from the heritage programme also enables the Heritage Council to undertake its excellent work, which includes the historic towns initiative, support for the National Biodiversity Data Centre, and vital grant support to community heritage groups. I call particular attention to the work the Heritage Council does to enhance the capacity of local authorities to manage the heritage assets in their care. I hope to see this extended to the full suite of heritage professions in the near future. This will add architectural conservation officers and archivists to our biodiversity officer programme.

Moving to the area of franchise, I am pleased to say that since its formal establishment on 9 February last year, An Coimisiún Toghcháin has made a positive contribution to improving our democratic processes, some of which I will outline. Since its establishment, it has reviewed and made recommendations on the constituency boundaries for the Dáil and European Parliament elections adopted through the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023. It also provided information to the public on the subject matter of the two referendums, family and care, held in March this year, and commenced work on a post-electoral event review of the administration of the referendums, particularly focused on polling stations and supports provided to disabled people in voting.

Other areas included a draft research programme from 2024 to 2026, voter education, responsibility for the registration of political parties, oversight of the electoral register and the publication of a framework on online electoral process information, political advertising and deceptive AI content. The framework aims to complement existing EU and international initiatives, such as the EU code of practice on disinformation, and was particularly aimed at supporting the integrity of our European Parliament, local authority and Limerick mayoral elections held on 7 June 2024.

The budget for an coimisiún in 2024 is €11.799 million. This funding will provide a strong base for an coimisiún in its first full year of operations as it builds capacity and expertise. The 2024 allocation for the electoral registration modernisation programme is €3 million. Last year saw some 134,000 online applications to register or update details. A further €1.7 million was allocated to local authorities in 2024 to continue their work to improve data quality on the electoral register. In the run-up to electoral events in the first half of 2024, the new processes and systems enabled some 430,000 online applications. Capital funding of €2.5 million for 2024 is targeting the new national shared electoral registration system, with work to begin in quarter 3 of this year.

I thank members for their time. The Minister, Minister of State and I look forward to their questions.