Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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14. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the level of funding that has been provided to the Heritage Council in 2015; the increase in this funding that is being provided under budget 2016. [39529/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Heritage Council, which my Department funds, has been allocated a sum of €5.593 million in 2015 to fund its role of supporting heritage infrastructure and promoting pride and best practice in the conservation and sustainable management of heritage assets. This figure excludes an additional and separate €0.378m allocated to the Heritage Council in 2015 as part funding for the National Biodiversity Data Centre.

I refer the Deputy to my answer to priority question number 1 today with respect to the increase in funding for 2016. As I pointed out there, my Department is currently considering the funding available for the protection and conservation of the built heritage in 2016 in the context of its overall allocation and I will publish details of funding schemes for 2016 as soon as these are finalised. In this regard and in order to maximise all potential efficiencies, my Department in consultation with the Heritage Council, will be conducting a specific expenditure review of the Heritage Council in early 2016.

As outlined in my 2016 Budget statement, I have secured an additional €2 million for the heritage sector for next year. This is being allocated to a scheme being run by my Department to support built heritage projects.

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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15. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views regarding the request received from the Heritage Council, for an additional €1.9 million in funding in 2016, to finance a range of community-based heritage initiatives that would generate multiplier employment in the tourism and wider heritage sectors. [39532/15]

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 2016 in the context of its overall allocation and I will publish details of funding schemes for 2016 as soon as these are finalised.

Funding for the protection of built heritage will continue to be provided by my Department via a number of schemes, which will be either directly administered or delivered through local authorities and agencies such as the Heritage Council.

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. In this regard, my Department, in consultation with the Heritage Council, will be undertaking an expenditure review of the Heritage Council in early 2016 with a view to identifying any further improvements that might be achieved in the delivery of heritage services.

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. 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 2016 and future years having regard to competing priorities for limited resources.