Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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375. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department will consider adopting an abbey (details supplied) as a national monument; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30250/16]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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376. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the potential funding stream available from her Department or the EU that would support the safeguarding and restoration of an abbey (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30254/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 375 and 376 together.

I am advised that my Department’s view is that the building in question may be considered a national monument within the meaning of the National Monument Acts. Officials from my Department met with representatives of Donegal County Council and the local Historical Society on site in late 2015 to discuss the possibility of taking the monument into State ownership. My Department is currently assessing the feasibility of this proposal with the Office of Public Works. The assessment will, in particular, include consideration of the availability of the funding and staffing resources necessary to address the conservation and ongoing maintenance needs of the site on a long-term basis.

In the meantime, local supporters could investigate other State financial supports available to assist the conservation and preservation of heritage structures. The Heritage Council, which my Department funds, provides grants for the protection and preservation of the built heritage. It is a matter for the Heritage Council to decide how its funding should be allocated across the range of its research, education and conservation programmes, having regard to competing priorities for limited resources. The Council awarded funding of over €880,000 to 171 heritage projects nationwide under its 2016 Heritage Management Grant Scheme. Further details of the Council’s grant schemes may be found on its website.

The funding available for 2016 through the Structures at Risk Fund and the Built Heritage Investment Scheme, both run by my own Department through the local authorities, has been fully allocated. The Structures at Risk Fund covers conservation works to heritage structures, in both private and public ownership, which are protected under the Planning and Development Acts and are deemed to be at significant risk of deterioration. It seeks to encourage the regeneration and reuse of heritage properties and to help to secure the preservation of protected structures which might otherwise be lost. The Built Heritage Investment Scheme provides funding for the repair and conservation of protected structures and supports a significant number of projects across the country, providing employment in the conservation and construction industries while also helping to regenerate urban and rural areas. While details have yet to be finalised as regards schemes for 2017, they are again likely to be operated through the local authorities.