Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in view of its estimated value to the economy here the plans he has to develop the historic environment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42033/12]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which he and or his Department have identified heritage buildings or sites deemed to be at risk at specific or particular locations throughout the country; if he will identify the top twenty most vulnerable such locations; the action taken or likely to be taken to address any issues arising; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42336/12]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will identify the number of ring forts excavated or developed and or open to the public at various locations throughout the country; the degree to which such locations are available for tourism and educational purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42337/12]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the total number of heritage or restoration projects currently in progress or proposed at different locations throughout the country; the extent to which he has available to him the necessary resources for such ventures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42338/12]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will indicate the total number of heritage sites, buildings or excavations identified throughout the country as being suitable for conservation or restoration projects with particular reference to the possibility of availing of the surplus skills available due to employment and the desirability of the protection and or restoration of the national heritage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42346/12]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent, if any, to which he and his Department have examined any proposals or projects within the remit of his Department which might result in alleviation of youth unemployment with particular reference to historic sites, buildings or locations requiring particular or specific action; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42347/12]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 43, 133, 134, 135, 143 and 144 together.

My Department has a broad range of responsibilities in respect to the protection of our natural, architectural and archaeological heritage.

The Deputies may be aware of the research report Economic Value of Ireland’s Historic Environment,published earlier this year, which establishes that heritage conservation and tourism have very significant economic value and that Ireland’s historic environment supports over 35,000 jobs and contributes in the order of €1.5 billion to the national economy. The report, commissioned by the Heritage Council and prepared under the direction of a steering committee chaired by my Department, provides comprehensive evidence-based data that supports and enhances our innate understanding of the importance of our built heritage.

The report indicates that capital investment in built heritage conservation provides significant employment in the construction industry, while also assisting in developing and maintaining specialised skills among conservation professionals and craftspeople. While the management and delivery of specific State-funded conservation projects is generally carried out through bodies such as the OPW, local authorities and heritage organisations that receive grants awarded by the Heritage Council or my Department, the report identifies that much of the investment in our built heritage comes from private sources, and not the State. In this context, it is not possible to quantify the number of heritage or restoration projects currently in progress or proposed throughout the country.

My Department remains focused on working creatively across Government and with partner bodies, such as the Heritage Council, the Irish Heritage Trust, Fáilte Ireland, the Rural Development Programme (formerly LEADER) and other heritage interests, in seeking to ensure that resources are directed towards the heritage sector.

In this context, my Department is currently promoting the role which Ireland’s heritage has to play in making our country an attractive destination for sustainable tourism and inward investment, both in terms of the operation of Ireland’s national parks and nature reserves, and in terms of our unique built heritage. Culture and heritage are important elements of Ireland’s tourism product, and heritage properties, including those in State care, are prominent tourism sites. At the National Ploughing Championship in Wexford last week, I formally launched new elements of my Department’s websites, and, which will guide visitors to a selection of our national monuments and structures of architectural heritage interest.

My Department and OPW, which is responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of monuments in State ownership or guardianship, is also actively assisting Fáilte Ireland (which is the key driver in relation to heritage tourism) with various initiatives to promote heritage tourism.

With specific regard to ringforts, my Department has identified 32 of the 757 national monuments sites in my ownership or guardianship as ringforts. There are 120,000 further monuments, mostly located on private lands, including many ringforts, that are protected under the National Monuments Acts. Given the total number of these sites, it is not feasible to say specifically what the situation is in relation to access for each site nationally, However, national monument sites are, in general, freely accessible to the public, or where privately held, accessible under local arrangements. While some monuments acquired in the past do not have a public right of way, it is my Department’s policy to acquire such rights, where possible, with the agreement of landowners, and this practice will continue.

It should also be noted that my Department does not have comprehensive information on the numbers of reports of actual damage or threats of damage to protected structures and sites but it does have a suite of tools, both legislative and advisory, at its disposal to address such reports, where and when they are received.

As Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, I am committed to developing initiatives which contribute to the appropriate re-use of our built heritage assets and maximising this resource as a platform to promote and raise awareness of our cultural heritage in our historic towns and cities. In this regard, my Department is currently engaged in developing a specific heritage-led Historic Towns Initiative in collaboration with Fáilte Ireland and the Heritage Council. My primary objective with this initiative is to ensure that the participating towns have access to, and an understanding of, appropriate guidance to assist them in best conserving their heritage assets and, in so doing, underpin the sustainability of their community and local economy. It is my hope that meeting these goals will also, by extension, significantly enhance the visitor experience in these towns, thus helping to maximise the potential positive contribution of tourism to each of these towns and their respective hinterlands. I expect that this initiative, once fully developed this year, will be piloted in 2013.

While funding for investment in heritage is particularly limited at present, my Department will continue to provide funding for the protection, conservation and development of our built and natural heritage, in so far as resources allow, in accordance with best practice and legal requirements, both nationally and internationally, and will intervene as provided by law to protect such sites. In June for example, I approved offers of funding to 41 conservation projects in 27 local authority areas to a total value of €500,000 under the Structures at Risk Fund of my Department's 2012 Built Heritage Capital Programme.