Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department's allocation to the Heritage Council in 2017 will be €6.254 million, subject to final confirmation in the Revised Estimates. This amount excludes any contribution from the environment fund, which has yet to be decided with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. The contribution to the council from this fund amounted to €748,000 in 2016.

Following from increased funding in 2016 for the Heritage Council's current overall budget of €5.243 million, excluding the environment fund, I have secured an additional €1 million in capital funding for the council in 2017 to assist in a dedicated programme to deal with historic towns and their role in regional and rural development. This follows on from the successful historic towns initiative pilot delivered by my Department, in collaboration with the Heritage Council and Fáilte Ireland, in 2012 and 2013.

While it is primarily a matter for the Heritage Council to decide how its funding should be allocated across the range of programmes it supports, my Department will continue to work closely with the council to ensure continued investment is appropriately targeted in the built heritage area having regard to competing priorities for the limited resources available.

The Deputy will appreciate that the scope for funding for the conservation of the built heritage is constrained by the significant pressure on the public finances. Nonetheless, I keep the competing priorities in respect of the preservation and enhancement of the national heritage under ongoing review having regard to the resources available to my Department.

Funding for the protection of built heritage will also continue to be provided by my Department via a number of schemes, including the successful structures at risk fund and the built heritage investment scheme, which is directly administered and delivered in tandem with local authorities nationally.

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