Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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619. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of the National Monuments Bill which was expected in late 2015 as part of the Government’s Legislative Programme for Spring and Summer 2015; when she will complete the text; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10177/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The National Monuments Bill is intended to replace, in extensively revised and modernized form, the five existing Acts that make up the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2004, as well as a number of other pieces of related legislation, some going back to the 19^thcentury. The Bill is, therefore, a major undertaking that will seek, for example, to:

- replace different levels of protection under the existing legislation with a single Register of Monuments;

- give automatic legal protection to newly discovered archaeological monuments;

- introduce an integrated archaeological licensing system in place of the series of sometimes overlapping licensing and consent requirements that exist at present;

- enable the State to ratify a number of key international conventions relating to protection of underwater cultural heritage and illicit dealing in cultural goods; and

- give formal recognition for the first time to World Heritage Sites in domestic Irish law.

Work on the drafting of the Bill has been underway for some time and I am advised that it is now at a relatively advanced stage.