Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I am sorry to have to beg the indulgence of the House to raise the important matter of a massive reduction in expenditure for the Heritage Council in 2011.

The cuts published in the budget for 2011 will impact on the support offered by the State to its heritage assets and the local communities that support them. Our heritage is a vital part of our identity, sense of place and tourism offering and it provides a vital resource for recreation, health, learning and enjoyment. Significantly, the strong economic value of heritage can be shown in job creation, and this has been well tabulated by the Heritage Council itself.

In 2010, the council's budget was decreased by 30% to €9 million. In the 2011 budget it was reduced by a further 47% to €4.49 million. If expenditure cuts to the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the built heritage division of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government are also considered, there has been a 66% cut in State funding to heritage.

These cuts come at a time when tourism is identified as a key element in the recently published national recovery plan. Some 76% of tourists identified landscape and nature as the primary reason for visiting Ireland. These are integral parts of our national heritage. I cannot understand how this disproportionate cut to the National Heritage Council would be agreed by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, in view of the contribution it is likely to make to our national recovery. These cuts will affect conservation works in many towns and will mean a cessation in grants to historic buildings and thatched houses. New and innovative research funding schemes will be brought to an end.

I will give another example of the effect of these cuts before I pass to Deputy Tuffy. By cutting investment in State agencies whose core functions are the delivery of EU and internationally agreed biodiversity targets and the implementation of and compliance with various wildlife related EU directives, such as the Birds and Habitats Directives, we risk not meeting the new EU target and being taken to the European Court of Justice for failure to comply with them. Should the court find against Ireland in any of these cases, significant fines could be incurred. It does not make sense to run the risk of incurring fines to the European Union when we do not have to do so and when the Heritage Council has already suffered significant reductions in expenditure in 2010.

Can the Minister explain why he failed so miserably to withstand the pressure from the Department of Finance to cut funding to an agency that is particularly important for tourism development and heritage by 66%?

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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The Heritage Council's budget was cut by 30%, to €9 million, in 2010 and this year it has been reduced by 40%, to €4.49 million. A few years ago the budget was €20 million. It has gone down from €20 million to just under €5 million.

The lost funding was used to send assistants into schools to help teachers and children with projects on their local heritage. It provided grants for various projects that created employment, such as thatching. Grants were provided for village design statements. One of these was carried out in my village of Lucan by South Dublin County Council in partnership with the Heritage Council. This involved the stakeholders in the community, including school children and community activists who were interested in the village and its historic character. Money was used to part-fund heritage officers employed in partnership with county councils. These positive developments cannot continue. This is where the cuts will hit. It will not be possible for the Heritage Council to provide funding for these projects unless the Minister finds funding from somewhere else.

Our heritage is important to our tourism. Some 76% of tourists identify landscape and nature as a reason for visiting Ireland. Deputy Hogan referred to the 56% cut in the budget of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. If we are to get moving again and be positive we must invest in our heritage and environment. Instead of going to shopping centres and hotels - too many of which were built during the boom years - people should spend time with their family and friends and in their local communities. They should also visit national monuments, parks, etc. Money spent on our heritage is money well spent. This is a key aspect of the Minister's portfolio and it is a great disappointment, therefore, that the cut in funding for the Heritage Council has been so great. I ask that he suggest other ways in which the work to which I refer might be funded.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. Due to the difficult public financial situation, and in common with other Departments, the recent budget has seen a reduction in the financial resources available to my Department from €2.2 billion in 2010 to €1.6 billion in 2011. In recent years, my Department has strategically focused on contributing to economic recovery, assisting those in need of support and protecting and enhancing the environmental resource base on which economic progress ultimately depends. The significant resources being made available to my Department next year will be utilised to maintain this focus.

The reduction in the 2011 current allocation mainly affects support for the local government fund and also requires savings in the environmental and built and natural heritage areas. While 2011 will see a significant reduction in capital funding in overall terms, the primary effect on the Department will be to extend the timescale for full implementation of programmes, while also taking account of refocused priorities in the current climate and obtaining better value for money - through more competitive tendering and greater efficiency - from the €1 billion which will still be invested in Department capital programmes during the coming year.

The reduction in the overall funding available, contractual commitments on spending programmes and the emphasis on social protection and environmental compliance has lead to a significant reduction in the funding that will be available to the Heritage Council and the built heritage area in 2011. This cut in funding must be seen against the backdrop of considerable allocations to the Heritage Council and the built heritage area in previous years - for example, allocations of €36 million in 2007 and €45 million in 2008. The Heritage Council will be obliged to decide on how to make the best use of the financial resources being made available to it and on its priorities. I hope the council will be able to continue with its activities in the areas of policy, heritage infrastructure support and heritage grants.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Some hope.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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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.

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister and wish him, the Deputies present and the staff of the Houses a very happy Christmas.