Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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129. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which her Department continues to ensure the protection of listed sites and buildings for the benefit of future generations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40926/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My role, as Minister, with regard to the protection and management of our built 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.

Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, provides for the protection of architectural heritage. The Act gives primary responsibility to planning authorities to identify and protect the architectural heritage by including relevant structures on the Record of Protected Structures. Inclusion on the Record of Protected Structures places a duty of care on the owners and occupiers of protected structures and also gives planning authorities powers to deal with development proposals affecting them and to seek to safeguard their future.

My Department also maintains the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH), a State initiative to identify, record, and evaluate the post-1700 architectural heritage of Ireland, uniformly and consistently as an aid in the protection and conservation of the built heritage. I recommend structures rated as being of regional importance or above to the planning authorities for inclusion on the Record of Protected Structures.However, the making of an addition to, or a deletion from, a Record of Protected Structures is a reserved function of the relevant planning authorities.

Financial support is provided by my Department through a number of structured schemes for the conservation and protection of heritage buildings. These schemes are administered via the local authorities and include the Built Heritage Investment Scheme and the Structures at Risk Fund.

Under the provisions of the National Monuments Acts 1930-2014, my Department has established and maintains the Record of Monuments and Places, which affords legal protection to over 120,000 recorded archaeological sites and monuments in the State. Anyone proposing works to a monument that is included in the Record of Monument and Places must give my Department two months prior notice before works can start.

As Minister, I am the owner or guardian under the National Monuments Acts of approximately 1,000 national monuments located at approximately 750 sites and in such cases there is a statutory duty to maintain the national monument. Such maintenance is undertaken by the Office of Public Works (OPW). Local authorities are responsible under the National Monuments Acts for maintaining the national monuments of which they are owners or guardians.

My Department is providing €350,000 of funding to the OPW in 2017 to assist in the conservation and presentation of historic buildings and national monuments in State ownership. My Department’s National Monuments Service works in close collaboration with the OPW on survey, excavation and research work to optimise the protection, management, interpretation and presentation of national monuments in State care.

The Heritage Council, which my Department funds, also provides grants for the protection and preservation of the built heritage. 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 annually, having regard to competing priorities for limited resources. Grant schemes for 2017 are advertised by the Heritage Council on its website www.heritagecouncil.ie.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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133. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which her Department continues to liaise with the Office of Public Works to ensure that heritage sites and buildings continue to be protected and in cases in which it is necessary sealed to prevent water damage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40930/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department is providing €350,000 of funding to the Office of Public Works (OPW) in 2017 to assist in the conservation and presentation of historic buildings and national monuments in State ownership. In the current year my Department is also providing almost €900,000 under its Structures at Risk Scheme to local authorities to address heritage infrastructure.

My Department’s National Monuments Service works in close collaboration with the OPW on survey, excavation and research work to optimise the protection, management, interpretation and presentation of national monuments in State care throughout the country.

My Department's liaison with the OPW includes regular meetings at a central, regional and district level, addressing conservation and management issues at our key properties, including our World Heritage sites. In addition, my Department regularly liaises with the OPW through our strategic partnership with Fáilte Ireland. The goal of this substantial capital and non-capital investment in key heritage properties owned by the State is to improve the experience of visitors, of tourists and the general public, through improvement of interpretation, access and facilities, including car parking, in line with the conservation agenda of each site.