Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Boyhan for raising the matter. I, too, pay tribute to the late Mr. Stephen Devaney. I certainly knew him and I am aware of the good work that he did to protect our conservation areas and to protect the beautiful county we all share with Senator Horkan.

Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, planning authorities are required to maintain a record of protected structures. The Act specifies that this should include structures of special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social or technical interest within its functional area.

The compilation of a National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, an inventory of structures of such interest, is a project being undertaken by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Deputy Madigan, as Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, uses the data from the inventory to recommend to each planning authority structures for inclusion on its record of protected structures. A total of 45,388 such recommendations have issued to date.

A planning authority must have regard to any recommendations made to it, but ultimately the addition or deletion of a structure to or from the record of protected structures is a reserved function of the elected members of each local authority.

The initial survey for the country has been substantially completed except for Dublin city and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. These two local planning authority areas were consciously left to last as they have a significant record of protected structures, unlike many other counties. However, I understand that both authorities are keen to have the inventory done and recommendations made for their functional areas as an independent review of their existing record of protected structures and to provide a modern data structure for its future management.I understand that there are approximately 2,000 structures on the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown record of protected structures. In Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, field surveys have been completed for the Glencullen, Shankill, Cabinteely and Foxrock areas. Arising from these surveys, 383 recommendations have been made by the Minister to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, most recently in August of last year. Two further contracts for field recordings in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown are planned for 2018. The first is to be advertised in May. Arising from these, further recommendations to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown will be made by the Minister, Deputy Madigan. As an initial field identification for the area has yet to be completed, and based on current survey numbers with reference to previous surveys of this scale, it will be years before the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown inventory is substantially completed.

The data from the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown surveys will be added to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage website, www.buildingsofireland.ie, in the near future. The website receives approximately 1.5 million page views a year. Although its original audience was seen as owners, building professionals and local authority staff, the experience, from user feedback and questions, is that the website attracts a much wider international audience, often people working on their family history or planning an Irish visit. The Senator is right that there is huge interest in architectural conservation and heritage in our county. I thank him for posing the question earlier.