Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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608. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her attention has been drawn to the sale of White’s Castle, Athy, County Kildare; and her plans to provide funding to the local authority to purchase this building in view of the fact that it is the second time in ten years the castle has come up for sale and is an important building and location in this heritage town. [35404/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The property referred to by the Deputy is included in the statutory Record of Monuments and Places and, as such, is protected under the National Monuments Acts.

Because of the resource implications, the State is only ever in a position to acquire, maintain and present to the public a relatively small number of heritage properties and monuments. My Department makes such acquisitions from time to time in exceptional circumstances in line with their archaeological, architectural, historical or other special significance.

While this particular property is an important local landmark, there are no funds available to me at this time to assist the Local Authority with any purchase.