Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 17, line 18, to delete "Historic and Archaeological Heritage Act 2023" and substitute "Historic and Archaeological Heritage, and Monuments Act 2023".

I welcome the Minister of State. I acknowledge the presence of Senator Seery Kearney, who is a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, where we discussed the Bill at great length. There are a lot of amendments and I will speak briefly on each one. I will set out the rationale for each amendment as I see it. I have been asked by Senator Higgins to also move and deal with her amendments. I think the Seanad office has been notified of that.

The rationale for amendment No. 1 is that what is proposed is a more appropriate name for the legislation and that it should be called the Historic and Archaeological Heritage, and Monuments Act. That is something Senator Kyne, a former Minister of State with responsibility in this area, suggested. That makes sense when one looks at the extent of the use of the word "monument" in the legislation. Senator Seery Kearney also indicated to me that it is a very good amendment. I took the advice, and I ran with it.

I will not speak on the issue at great length. We have an entire section devoted to the register of monuments and related provisions. There is special protection for certain registered monuments and provisions relating to works carried out on registered monuments, among others. The list would be a lot longer if we were to list all the various references to monuments in the Bill. I think the case stands. I look forward to the response of the Minister of State.