Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 288: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are a number of local authorities that do not have a heritage officer, in particular, north Tipperary, which has just lost their heritage officer due to early retirement; the action he proposes to take to address the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4102/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Since 1999, the Heritage Council, under the aegis of my Department, has developed a partnership programme with local authorities to facilitate the employment of heritage officers. Local authorities that participate in the programme are eligible for financial assistance from the Heritage Council towards the cost of employing a heritage officer.

There are currently twenty-seven local authorities with heritage officers in the programme. Twenty-eight heritage officers is the maximum number that have participated in the programme.

The heritage officer post in North Tipperary County Council has been vacant since the end of November 2009, when the officer who worked in the post for nine years retired.

The employment of heritage officers is a matter in the first instance for each local authority. Under the arrangements for the implementation of the general moratorium on the filling of public service posts which my Department issued to local authorities in August 2009, local authorities are expected to consider options for reorganisation and reallocation of work to meet requirements, where vacancies arise. Any exceptions to this principle, which will arise in very limited circumstances, require sanction from my Department. To date, no sanction requests have been made to my Department in respect of heritage officers.