Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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Question 304: To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if his attention has been drawn to the state of disrepair of the historic Castleblayney courthouse building; if his attention has been drawn to any plans by Monaghan County Council to restore this building with a view to turning it into a facility for community use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26308/11]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Under Part IV of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2010, statutory protection of the architectural heritage is primarily a matter for each planning authority. As part of this Act, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is a statutory consultee on any proposed development that may have an impact on the built or natural heritage. However, final decisions on development applications are a matter for the relevant planning authority or An Bord Pleanála on appeal.

In November 2006, under the 2000 Act, Castleblayney Town Council referred a planning application for works at the courthouse building to my Department. In January 2007 the Town Council granted permission for the proposed works with a number of conditions. It appears that Monaghan County Council has yet to commence works on foot of the permission granted.

Castleblayney Courthouse is included on the Record of Protected Structures provided for under the Act and is owned by Monaghan County Council but is located in the area under the planning remit of Castleblayney Town Council. Accordingly both Councils as owner and planning authority have responsibilities for the protection of the building. I understand that an application for funding for Castleblayney Courthouse was submitted to the Heritage Council by Monaghan County Council under the Heritage Managements Grants Scheme in 2011, but was not successful. The Heritage Council will shortly be accepting applications under the Heritage Management Grants Scheme for 2012.