James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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661. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the funding she plans to provide to counties Longford and Westmeath for the preservation of protected structures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4623/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department is currently considering the funding available for the protection and conservation of the built heritage in 2015 in the context of its overall allocation and I will publish details of funding schemes for 2015 as soon as these are finalised. As the Deputy can appreciate, the scope for funding for the conservation of the built heritage is currently constrained by the significant reduction in the public finances. Nonetheless, I keep the competing priorities regarding the preservation and enhancement of the national heritage under on-going review having regard to the resources available to my Department. Funding for the protection of built heritage will continue to be provided by my Department in 2015 via a number of schemes, which will be either directly administered or delivered through local authorities, such as Longford and Westmeath County Councils, or through the Heritage Council. It is primarily a matter for the Heritage Council to decide how its funding should be allocated across the range of research, education and conservation programmes it supports in 2015 and future years having regard to competing priorities for limited resources.