Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This amendment is quite simple and self-explanatory in what it is seeking to do. It is a report on the alignment of development with protection and conservation. The rationale for its introduction is that we know from the 2004 amendment to the National Monuments Act 1930 that there was a very large amount of destruction of our archaeological heritage and we have seen the impact that development can have when it is not adequately cognisant or careful regarding the protection and conservation of built and natural heritage. For example, in 2001 the Heritage Council carried out the last survey on the destruction of archaeological sites. It surveyed 1.4% of all known monuments in the State and found that 34% of ringforts had been destroyed since first recorded in Ordnance Surveys beginning in the 1820s. The rate of destruction increased over the decades, reaching 6.5% in the late 1990s. We need to ensure that such destruction is halted and that the objectives of the national development plan are aligned with archaeological conservation. I would note the changes whereby the Ordnance Survey and the property register have been combined. The Ordnance Survey has been one of our great resources and I raised this separately when the legislation was coming through in respect of the merging of those bodies. It is important to ensure that we maintain the continuity of records and that the functions in relation to our collective heritage, as well as to the registration of property, are fully and properly reflected in the new entity.This is simply ensuring we ensure the national development plan is consistent with the protection and conservation of our built archaeological heritage. I named ring forts because they are an example of something that has been largely destroyed in a short period of time. Amendment No. 36 also speaks to the protection and conservation of our natural archeological heritage, the protection and conservation of national monuments and prescribed monuments and overall the need to prevent and reduce the risk of release of embodied carbon and the role of natural built and cultural heritage in climate action. I am glad that paragraph (d) is in this proposed report. The Minister will be aware my amendment No. 37, which I do not think I will get to speak to, I think it has been ruled out of order-----