Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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307. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department plans to allocate funding to Duncannon Fort, County Wexford, which recently closed due to funding issues and which is an important source of local revenue due to its historical significance to the area; if he has been in contact with the Department for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Department for Transport, Tourism and Sport or the Department for the Environment, Community and Local Government with regard to possible actions to reopen Duncannon Fort, which has in the past been the recipient of public funding grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18129/15]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I understand that Wexford County Council recently announced that Duncannon Fort has been temporarily closed due to health and safety issues.

I note that the Deputy asked my colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht a similar question in relation to Duncannon Fort recently.  She explained that while part of the site is under her guardianship under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2004, it is owned entirely by Wexford County Council.  In accordance with arrangements in regard to all national monuments, the Office of Public Works is responsible for the maintenance of that part of the site in the guardianship of her Department. 

Therefore, I, as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, have no direct role in this regard.  The question of possible actions to reopen Duncannon Fort is a matter for Wexford County Council in the first instance.  I understand that the Board of Duncannon Fort, in conjunction with Wexford County Council, are focussed on a response to address not only the health and safety issues but also to develop a strategic plan to develop the Forts potential as a high quality tourist attraction.