Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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241. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of historic, heritage and-or protected sites and buildings deemed to be at risk at present for whatever reason; the action proposed to address such issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40652/14]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Comprehensive statistics are not available in respect of the number of historic, heritage and/or protected sites and buildings deemed to be at risk throughout the country. My Department has a number of measures at its disposal to address the issue of endangered heritage sites or buildings throughout the country. All known archaeological monuments, of which there are in excess of 130,000, are entitled to protection under the National Monuments Acts. The National Monuments Acts 1930-2004 allow me to make a preservation order where I consider a national monument to be at risk. Protection may be extended to previously unrecorded monuments by entering them in the Register of Historic Monuments or the Record of Monuments and Places. Prosecutions in respect of damage to recorded monuments are initiated where warranted.

Under section 53 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, I may make recommendations to a planning authority concerning the inclusion in its Record of Protected Structures any structures which I consider would merit such inclusion and the attendant planning restrictions which would apply to protect the structures’ special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social or technical interest.