Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number and location of buildings or sites that have become the responsibility of the State in each of the past four years in the context of preservation of historical or heritage sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13362/13]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Since its establishment in June 2011, my Department has acquired ownership of a complex of five archaeological monuments at Lough Gur, Co Limerick, from the local authority.

For the sake of completeness, I should refer to the Voluntary Bog Purchase Scheme operated by my Department under which domestic turf cutters can sell designated bog plots to the State at agreed rates. In May 2010, the then Government announced the closure of this scheme to new applicants. However, my Department has purchased bog plots in areas designated as special areas of conservation over the last number of years and is continuing to process applications received before this date.