John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

Despite the reduction in the allocation to the built heritage area of my Department, work will continue on the national inventory of architectural heritage, the Government's policy on architecture and the world heritage programme. Funding will be provided to progress the work of the Archaeological Survey of Ireland for archaeological research and to progress completed archaeological excavations at important sites to report publication stage.

My Department is considering how best the reduced allocation to the built heritage capital programme might be used to assist in the conservation of the architectural heritage. In addition, I met Mr. Conor Newman, chairman of the Heritage Council, today and I intend to have further meetings with him in the coming weeks with a view to mitigating these reductions. My proposals will be set out early in 2011. In the area of natural heritage, consideration is being given to providing support from the environment fund to the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department.

The Deputies will appreciate that in a budgetary process Ministers are often faced with difficult choices such as, for example, that relating to heritage versus homelessness. While the allocation to my Department in 2011 has unavoidable impacts on funding to the Heritage Council and to the built and natural heritage areas of the Department, work will continue on protecting our built and natural heritage and on encouraging and supporting high-quality, modern architecture.

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