Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 642 and 643 together.

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 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, leading to a total of €15 million being invested in 540 historic structures across the country. Information provided by the local authorities indicates that 175 jobs were created as a result of this scheme. The operation of a similar scheme in the future would be contingent on dedicated funding being made available to my Department.

In 2015, under the Structures at Risk Fund, the outcome of which was announced in May, an allocation of €624,000 was available,to enable conservation works to heritage structures, in both private and public ownership, protected under the Planning and Development Acts 2000, as amended, which are deemed to be at significant risk of deterioration. This fund, which is 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, in excess of 130 structures have been safeguarded for the future as a result of the Structures at Risk Fund.

My Department’s allocation to the Heritage Council in 2016 will be subject to the normal budgetary processes and final confirmation in the Revised Estimates to be published in due course. It will be 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 2016, having regard to competing priorities for limited resources.

I am sure the Deputy can appreciate that the scope for funding for the conservation of the built heritage is currently constrained by the significant reduction in the public finances. None the less, the competing priorities regarding the preservation and enhancement of the national heritage are kept under ongoing review, having regard to the resources available to my Department.