Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in and congratulate Dr. Moloney on taking up the role. I will ask about the priority in terms of support for community heritage initiatives. I have two aspects of that.

The Chair spoke about the importance of heritage in terms of community and sense of place and how, when it is lost, it can be difficult to get back. One area in which this can be seen is naming. I have seen this done well and badly with new housing developments, indeed entire new communities. Sometimes they are named by the developer in a bland, generic way that has no attachment to the area. Sometimes they are named with regard to the name or history of the local area and that connection is included in the name from the start. That is valuable. When you grow up in an area, you hear all these names and have no idea what they mean. Over the years, you ask questions and find out the history and heritage, which sparks interest in that. That is important in giving a sense of place and connect to communities and giving communities the sense that there was a history before the new development came along.

I realised in more recent years that suburbs of Dublin that I just saw as suburbs were originally towns and villages, with all the history that goes with that. Naming is important but it is done sporadically throughout the country. The point about the 31 local authorities now having heritage officers is important. Is there something the Heritage Council can do in terms of issue guidelines or best practice to try to ensure through the local authorities and heritage officers that naming is done well everywhere? It is a simple thing but there is huge value to be added by doing that.

Every area has built and natural heritage but some are much better at protecting, resourcing or developing that than others. Is there something the Heritage Council can do in terms of priorities and support to give extra prioritisation to communities that may be disadvantaged and have less human capital? Even local community heritage groups or initiatives are often seen in more advantaged areas and less frequently in disadvantaged areas, though there are exceptions to that.