Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I accept everything that Deputy McLellan says and I am sure the House would as well. We have several tentative sites. The next step is to evaluate the sites further with a view to ultimate designation. Representatives of the Céide Fields, including Seamus Caulfield, were in contact with me and I met them. They are very anxious to designate the Céide Fields in Mayo as a World Heritage Site. There are some concerns there about planning permission, as there are in Clonmacnoise. In order to advance the process I have requested that UNESCO send us their expert in this area very soon to discuss the tentative sites and how we can advance these sites to full heritage status. That is the next step in the process. Becoming a World Heritage Site is quite complicated. There must to be major consultation with stakeholders, including the local community. That is a fundamental part of the process.

Following submission of a nominations file to UNESCO, it is evaluated by three advisory bodies, including the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the World Conservation Union and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property. There is a process of evaluation to go through that takes some time. I hope that after this meeting and following this consultative process, we will have a clearer pathway forward.

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