Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 889: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on the plans for the Hore Abbey in Cashel as a Cistercian monastery central to the heritage of the town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26845/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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My Department has consulted with the Office of Public Works (OPW), who are responsible for the management of Hore Abbey, a national monument in state ownership. I am advised that there are no specific plans by OPW for the rebuilding or restoration of the Abbey ruins.

I understand that the matter of conservation plans for National Monuments in state ownership generally, and specifically the status of such a plan for Hore Abbey, is being addressed by the Minister of State at the Department of Finance with responsibility for OPW in reply to Questions Nos. 164, 167, 169 and 171 on today's order paper.

My Department has set out policy guidance on the rebuilding or restoration of a ruin in its Architectural Heritage Protection Guidelines for Planning Authorities published in 2004. The guidelines point out, inter alia, that:

works related to the rebuilding or restoration of a ruin have the potential to alter materially the character of a structure;

it will rarely be possible to bring back into use a building that has stood for a long time as a ruin without the replacement of certain amounts of original fabric;

restoration of a ruinous structure should not involve an unacceptable amount of alteration or loss of important historic fabric.

The guidelines state that where a structure cannot be restored and brought back into use without comprising its special interest or character and in order to prevent further deterioration of the protected structure, it may be proposed to consolidate the fabric as it stands and to preserve the structure as a ruin. A copy of the guidelines are available on my Department's website at www.environ.ie.