Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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212. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which EU funding has been made available for the preservation-restoration of historical monuments, buildings or sites in the past five years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51917/13]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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My colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform oversees EU Structural Funding. As the current programme of Structural Funds, which is running from 2007-2013, is not closed out, I understand that it is not yet possible to say definitively the extent to which historical monuments, buildings or sites will have benefited from the programme.

It should be noted that EU funding may benefit Ireland's built heritage through a number of funding streams. For example, my Department is working with the Border, Midland and Western Regional Assembly and with both the Office of Public Works and the Heritage Council to recoup funding expended on preservation works to certain historic sites by the latter two organisations in recent years from the European Regional Development Fund.

The Department of Environment, Community and Local Government has also committed funding for conservation work under the LEADER stream of the Rural Development Programme. Funding has also been provided for the preservation of traditional farm buildings throughout the country under the Rural Development Programme, for which the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is the lead Department.