Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I wish to address one of the unforeseen consequences of Covid-19 visiting our shores, which is the funding crisis for the restoration project of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. This is a national cathedral for the 400,000 strong members of the Church of Ireland. It is also an 800 year old national monument. Such is the cathedral's importance, its history and its place in Dublin and in Ireland that it attracts some 400,000 visitors to it and to its services annually. Managing that number of visitors would be a challenge in itself, but managing that number in such an historic setting and in such a historically sensitive building with some of the oldest roof timbers in Ireland, is a challenge.

A bigger challenge has been facing the cathedral since 2016 when a storm exposed the roof and two large holes appeared in the roof. Works that probably needed to happen long before then had to start and were undertaken by the dean, the administrators and the congregation. This is a huge project that will cost €9.1 million. The work started last year and the administrators have acknowledged the €200,000 grant the Department gave to the project. This funding is small, and dare I say paltry, given the importance of this building to the history of the city and of Ireland. It is a very delicate job and one cannot cut corners with it. We have seen with other restoration projects in Ireland how some costs can rise. As in Notre-Dame Cathedral, tragically, we can also see how these projects cannot be rushed, how care must be taken and a very delicate approach. One of the biggest scaffolding projects ever seen in the city has enclosed the whole cathedral currently, while at the same time allowing services and tourists to visit the cathedral.

Like the rest of Ireland, however, the problem is that the world stood still in March. The expected 3,000 to 4,000 visitors a day who would normally visit the cathedral have stopped coming and have not returned. This is when the donations dried up. This restoration project was to be self-funded by the church. It was not relying majorly on the State. While the cathedral administrators have acknowledged the €200,000 given by the State, they did not expect their funds and donations to dry up in such a severe way. They are seeking help to try to bridge the gap between what they expected to have at this stage and what the project needs to ensure the restoration continues in the two years remaining. I appeal to the Minister of State to put the hand into the pocket of the Government and to step up to the plate to help St. Patrick's Cathedral in its current dire need. I believe this historic building is of such importance to the city, for architecture and tourism that it needs intervention from the State to make sure the project can continue and that there is no delay in it.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for his very important Topical Issue matter. St. Patrick's Cathedral is the largest medieval church in Ireland. It has been recorded by my Departments national inventory of architectural heritage and rated of national significance. It is included on the Dublin City Council record of protected structures. Although substantially restored in the mid-19th century the cathedral still retains a significant amount of medieval fabric, including medieval roof timbers.

I am aware that the public health restrictions have been particularly difficult. I understand that 90% of tourists to this wonderful cathedral, come, in normal times, from overseas. St. Patrick's Cathedral is one of Ireland's most important historic structures, still operating for its original purpose 800 years after its construction. I assure the Deputy that my Department will continue to work closely with the Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral and his colleagues with a view to bringing this very important restoration project to completion. A further application from St. Patrick's Cathedral would be most welcome in the next round of the historic structures fund, which I expect to announce in November.

My Department provides financial support for the protection of heritage buildings and historic structures through two grant schemes that are, in the main, administered by the local authorities. These are the built heritage investment scheme and the historic structures fund. This year, 450 heritage projects across every county in the State will benefit from a combined sum of more than €4.3 million under these schemes. This funding will support the owners and custodians of historic and protected structures as they carry out hundreds of small-scale, labour-intensive projects to repair and safeguard our built heritage, as well as providing vital support for local jobs in conservation, traditional skills and construction. Details of all projects approved for 2020 are published on my Department's website.

As Deputy Ó Snodaigh said, in 2019, my Department awarded €200,000 in capital funding to St. Patrick's Cathedral under the historic structures fund for works to its roof, to be drawn down as works progressed over the course of 2019 and 2020. This represents the maximum award that can be made under this scheme. In addition, funding has been provided by my Department over the past number of years for work at the boundary walls and at St. Patrick's Close.

My Department has a number of further measures at its disposal to facilitate the restoration of major historical or cultural sites. I am the owner or guardian under the National Monuments Acts of approximately 1,000 national monuments located at some 750 sites, and in such cases there is a statutory duty to maintain the national monument. Such maintenance is undertaken by the Office of Public Works. Local authorities are responsible under the National Monuments Acts for maintaining the national monuments of which they are owners or guardians. A wide range of other monuments, in the order of 130,000, are currently subject to protection under other provisions of the National Monuments Acts but my Department and the Office of Public Works do not have a direct role in their maintenance except where, as already noted, a monument is a national monument of which I am owner or guardian.

I should clarify, in relation to the text of the matter, the definition of "monument" for the purpose of the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 is set out in section 2 of the principal Act of 1930. I note that the definition provides that it does not include any building, or part of any building, that is habitually used tor ecclesiastical purposes such as St. Patrick's Cathedral. The definition of "national monument" is also set out in the Acts. As something must be a monument before it can be considered a national monument, the exclusion of buildings habitually used for ecclesiastical purposes also operates in relation to whether a building can be considered a national monument.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. There is quite a bit in the Minister of State's reply. I will try to deal with some of that. I acknowledge the built heritage projects mentioned in the response, but most of them are on a smaller scale. This, however, is a massive scale. It has the biggest scaffold for any roof project currently. The project will cost €9.1 million and will involve stripping away the whole roof.

During the two years that the roof is missing, the timbers in the roof will be reworked and, if needs be, treated. The new slates which come from the same quarry used when the roof was last fixed in the 1860s, cost €25 each and every one of them has to be taken by hand up and down the scaffolding. This is an enormous undertaking by any standards and anyone with an understanding of conservation and restoration will acknowledge that. This project does not really fit the criteria for the small grants that are available for restoration but it is of such major importance that the Government must provide a once-off grant for it.

The Minister of State is technically correct that St. Patrick's Cathedral is not a national monument because services are still held there. However, one could also argue that the GPO is not a national monument because stamps are still sold there. There must be some understanding at Government level of the national importance of this project. St. Patrick's Cathedral is a significant tourist attraction. It is of benefit to the local area as well as to the Church of Ireland congregation. Anything that endangers the cathedral, like leaving it exposed to the elements because the roof has been stripped back, needs to be addressed by the State. The Government needs to step up to the plate here.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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St. Patrick's Cathedral is one of Ireland's most important historic structures, still operating as per its original purpose 800 years after its construction. The cathedral normally welcomes in excess of 600,000 visitors annually and is of strategic importance to the surrounding businesses. The major roof conservation project currently under way at the cathedral provides employment to many skilled Irish crafts people. As I indicated earlier, my Department has already provided substantial grant assistance to St. Patrick's Cathedral and would welcome a further application from the cathedral through Dublin City Council under the historical structure fund for 2021 when it launches later this year. In the meantime my officials stand ready and available to provide any professional assistance that may be required to the council and the cathedral staff in order to ensure the completion of the restoration project. I note the Deputy's very valid concerns in connection with this project and I will bring those concerns to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, who has specific responsibility for this area.