Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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1057. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if grants are available for trusts (details supplied) to carry out upgrading and maintenance works on their properties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19992/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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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 and agencies.

Recently I announced the awarding of €624,000 in funding under the Structures at Risk Fund 2015,to enable conservation works to twenty-eight heritage structures throughout the country, in both private and public ownership, deemed to be at significant risk of deterioration and which are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. This Fund, which is being administered through the local authorities, encourages the regeneration and reuse of heritage properties and helps to secure the preservation of protected structures, which might otherwise be lost. The Fund was open to two applications per local authority, of which one application may be in respect of a privately-owned building. The amount of funding available per project was subject to a minimum level of €15,000 and a maximum level of €60,000. Since 2011, approximately 130 structures have been safeguarded for the future as a result of the Structures at Risk Fund. My Department did not receive any formal application for funding under the Structures at Risk Fund 2015 from the Trust referred to by the Deputy.

The remainder of my Department’s built heritage capital budget for 2015 will be focused on the conservation and presentation of the State's heritage portfolio, which is managed by the Office of Public Works.

The Heritage Council, which my Department funds, recently announced funding for 197 heritage projects its 2015 Community-based Heritage Grants Scheme totalling €547,000. The scheme, which supports the continuing conservation and development of Irish heritage through local community based groups, is expected to generate total investment of more than €1 million. I would advise that the Trust in question contact the Heritage Council to see whether it would be eligible to apply for funding for any future Council schemes. The Heritage Council can be contacted at .