Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Heritage Ireland 2030 is a new national heritage plan for Ireland which is being developed by my Department. It will provide a coherent national heritage policy, recognising its importance to local communities and global visitors alike. Community engagement will lie at the heart of Heritage Ireland 2030, reflecting the values, visions and concerns of our citizens, communities, farmers, tourists and businesses. It will provide the opportunity for stakeholders to engage with our heritage, building on the priorities and key investment targets set out in Investing in our Culture, Heritage and Language.

A steering group headed up by my Department has been engaged in consultation with key stakeholders throughout the year to gauge and inform thinking on the broad pillars of the Heritage Ireland 2030 plan and to help to frame the public consultation process.

It is a revitalised national heritage plan. It will provide the overarching framework for Ireland’s heritage policy, reflecting and recognising its importance to local communities and global visitors alike. Ultimately, community engagement will lie at the core of Heritage Ireland 2030, reflecting the values, visions and concerns of our citizens, communities, farmers, tourists and businesses.

Significant progress has been made in the consultations with key stakeholders, and this critical phase is now nearing completion. The steering group has facilitated inputs by many partners by extending the original closing date for submissions. The resulting engagement has identified additional needs and opportunities across the broad built and natural heritage space, building on the priorities and key investment targets previously set out in Investing in our Culture, Heritage and Language launched earlier this year. To gather the views of the wider community, a public consultation document informed by the stakeholder engagement is being drafted by the steering group.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The development of Heritage Ireland 2030 is a unique opportunity to rethink how we care for our habitats, landscapes, wildlife, historic buildings and monuments so they can be celebrated and enjoyed long into the future. It is my intention to start the public consultation phase in November 2018 with the aim that it will conclude in spring 2019 and that finalisation of the plan will be achieved in the period following.

Our heritage is recognised as a vital contributor to national health, well-being, enjoyment and sustainable economic growth. There is also ever-increasing public awareness of the immense inherent value of Ireland's heritage and more and more stakeholder buy-in to its protection. Heritage Ireland 2030 will therefore provide an important policy framework within which we can protect, develop and share our national heritage.

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