Written answers

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs

Archaeological Sites

9:00 pm

Photo of Anne FerrisAnne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 468: To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of endangered archaeological sites, natural heritage sites and buildings here; if he will give a breakdown of those in County Wicklow; if he will give an update on his review of Part IV Architectural Heritage of the Planning and Development Act 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24053/11]

Photo of Jimmy DeenihanJimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Under the provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2000, each planning authority is required to include in its development plan a Record of Protected Structures. The making of an addition to, or deletion from, a Record of Protected Structures is a reserved function of the planning authorities.

Inclusion in the Record of Protected Structures places a duty of care on the owners and occupiers of protected structures and also gives planning authorities powers to deal with development proposals affecting them and to seek to safeguard their future.

Section 59 of the 2000 Act provides for a planning authority to serve notice to require works to be carried out in relation to endangerment of protected structures. On the basis of information submitted by the planning authorities to my Department, there were 19 such notices served in 2008, 27 in 2009 and 10 in 2010. None of these notices were served by the Wicklow planning authorities.

Archaeological sites, generally, are protected quite successfully under the National Monuments Acts 1930-2004. Whilst it not currently possible to quantify nationally how many sites are endangered, there are twelve cases of reported threat or damage to archaeological sites in County Wicklow currently under investigation by my Department.

Sites designated by my Department for their natural heritage interest include Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs), Refuges for Fauna, Nature Reserves and National Parks. Detailed information on these sites, including information on the nature conservation associated with each, is available on a county basis on the National Parks and Wildlife Service website at www.npws.ie .

I have given approval for my Department to undertake a review of the operation of Part IV (Architectural Heritage) of the Planning and Development Act 2000. An Expert Advisory Committee is being established as part of the review process. The review will focus on the effective operation of the existing code, rather than on a fundamental review of Part IV. This Committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting later this month.

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