Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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31. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the various initiatives funded by her Department that support the restoration of built heritage projects; her views on the success of the built heritage jobs leverage scheme; if she will extend that scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23939/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The scope for financial support 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. This includes making €624,000 available this year under the Structures at Risk Fund to support properties protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and deemed to be at significant risk of deterioration. Since 2011, over 100 structures have been safeguarded for the future as a result of the Structures at Risk Fund. 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, also provides grants for the protection and preservation of the built heritage. For 2015, the Council is administering a community-based heritage grants scheme with funding of €547,000 available for projects that contribute to particular heritage themes.

In 2014 my Department was provided with a special allocation of €5 million from Capital Stimulus funding for a new Built Heritage Jobs Leverage Scheme (BHJLS) to assist with works to safeguard structures, in private and civic ownership, protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended.

This scheme was administered directly through the local authorities and sought to encourage the investment of private capital in a number of small-scale, labour-intensive projects to repair and conserve historic structures and to support the employment of skilled and experienced conservation professionals, craft workers and tradespeople. My Department's allocation of €5 million leveraged a further €10 million in private funding, which led to a total of €15 million being invested in 540 historic structures across the country. Statistics gathered by the local authorities show that 175 full time equivalent jobs were generated by the scheme in 2014. The operation of a similar scheme in the future would be contingent on dedicated funding being made available to my Department.

The conservation and protection of Ireland's built heritage, both for its intrinsic value and as a support to economic renewal and sustainable employment, will continue to be a priority for my Department.