Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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111. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if funding will be made available for re-thatching in the Kildare area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33147/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My role, as Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, with regard to the protection and management of our architectural heritage, is set out in the provisions of relevant legislation, as are the role of local authorities and the responsibilities of owners as regards heritage assets.

As the Deputy can appreciate, the scope for funding for the conservation of the built heritage is currently constrained by the significant demands on public finances within the context of a recovering economy that is facing a challenging national and international environment.

My Department operates a Structures at Risk Fund to enable conservation works to heritage structures, in both private and public ownership, that are protected under the Planning and Development Acts and are deemed to be at significant risk of deterioration.This fund is administered through the local authorities and 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 scheme for this year is now fully allocated.

I launched a new €2 million scheme - the Built Heritage Investment Scheme - for the repair and conservation of protected structures on 21 October 2015.  This scheme is operating in 2016, via the local authorities, on the same model as the very successful Built Heritage Jobs Leverage Scheme, which ran in 2014. It is supporting a significant number of projects across the country and creating employment in the conservation and construction industries, while helping to regenerate urban and rural areas.  The scheme for this year is also fully allocated.

While no decision has been made on schemes for 2017, announcements, if any, will be made towards the end of 2016 or early in 2017 and are again likely to operate via the Local Authorities . The Conservation or Heritage Officer in the local authority will be able to advise regarding funding available for projects such as thatching, and it is advisable for interested parties to remain in contact with their local authority on an ongoing basis.

The Heritage Council, which my Department funds, also 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 research, education and conservation programmes it supports annually having regard to competing priorities for limited resources.  In 2016 the Council awardedfunding of over €880,000 to 171 heritage projects nationwide under its 2016 Heritage Management Grant Scheme. Further details of grant schemes available from the Heritage Council can be found at .