Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 287: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he will take to ensure that old stone bridges, some dating back to the 15th century, are conserved as part of the country's natural heritage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44107/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Under the provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2000, each planning authority is required, for the purpose of protecting structures including bridges, or parts of structures which are of special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social or technical interest, to include in its development plan a Record of Protected Structures for its functional area. This may be done at the time of the preparation of the development plan or, where appropriate, at any other time. The making of an addition to, or deletion from, a Record of Protected Structures is a reserved function of the planning authorities.

The Act also enables the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to make recommendations to a planning authority concerning the inclusion of specific structures in its Record of Protected Structures, and a planning authority must have regard to any such recommendations. These recommendations are based on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) surveys conducted by my Department.

In addition, a number of bridges, by reason of their antiquity and their architectural and structural integrity, are protected as monuments under the National Monuments Acts.