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

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, who unfortunately is unavailable today, is charged with responsibility under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2004 for the protection of our rich and important archaeological heritage. I assure the Deputy it is a responsibility which both she and her Department treat with the upmost seriousness.

The hilltop cairn at Tibradden, County Dublin, is a national monument of which the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is guardian under the National Monuments Acts. It has an interesting history. In the middle of the 19th century what was believed to be Bronze Age pottery and bone was recovered from the monument. In 1956, an archaeological excavation was carried out by the National Monuments Service. The results of that excavation clarified that the cairn was in fact a Bronze Age burial site dating from 1,800 B.C. to 600 B.C. However, it is important to note that the above ground passage and chamber structure is actually a 19th century feature.

Examination of Bronze Age burial sites has great potential to yield important archaeological information about ritual and burial rites in prehistoric times. It can, in turn, also cast wider light on the nature and structure of prehistoric society, as well as bringing us into closer contact with our remote ancestors. While, as I have said, the cairn at Tibradden has been subject to some archaeological excavation, there is no doubt it retains the potential to yield further important information about our past, a fact which further highlights the need to preserve and protect it.

As a national monument of which the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is guardian under the National Monuments Acts, the cairn enjoys a high level of legal protection under those Acts. Section 14 of the National Monuments Act 1930 makes it clear that it is a serious criminal offence for any unauthorised person to interfere with or damage such a monument. A conviction carries a fine of up to €10 million and up to five years in jail. A convicted person may also be required by the courts to fund the cost of repairing the monument. These onerous penalties reflect the gravity with which the Oireachtas views such offences, a view to which the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht fully subscribes.

As the Deputy will no doubt appreciate, the national monument formed by the cairn at Tibradden is situated in an isolated hilltop location. The protection of such monuments from interference, whether through deliberate vandalism or interference by those who simply do not understand the nature and significance of what they are doing, presents challenges. While the Minister and her Department are, of course, fully committed to using the sanctions available under the National Monuments Acts, she must also rely on the goodwill and vigilance of the public as one of the main ways to protect our archaeological heritage. In that context, the Minister would call on anyone who has information about any damage to this or any other monument to contact her Department's National Monuments Service or the Garda.

The Minister very much appreciates the steps taken by concerned citizens in this case to bring this matter to the attention of the National Monuments Service. I assure the House that the Minister is having it fully investigated by her Department and has also brought it to the attention of An Garda Síochána. The Minister deplores, as we all should, breaches of the National Monuments Acts; such breaches represent acts of gross disrespect and disregard for our national heritage.

Fortunately, in this particular case, the reported damage may not be especially serious, as it appears to be confined to the movement of loose stones from the cairn into the central chamber area. The material moved would very likely have been taken from an area rebuilt in the 1950s. It may indeed be possible to rectify it by simply moving the loose stone from the chamber back onto the surrounding cairn. The Minister's Department has already initiated discussions with the Office of Public Works with a view to repairing whatever damage has occurred at the earliest possible opportunity.

It is obviously difficult to know in this particular case, pending the outcome of any further investigations by An Garda Síochána, what may have been the motivation behind what occurred. As noted already, such incidents can represent intentional vandalism or simply a lack of understanding and appreciation of our heritage. On behalf of the Minister, I appeal to everyone to demonstrate appropriate respect towards our national monuments and also to be vigilant about protecting these monuments so we can be sure they will be there for future generations to visit and enjoy.

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