Tom Neville (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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306. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the sources of grant aid available to carry out essential structural works on a heritage building (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13503/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Financial support is provided by my Department for the conservation and preservation of heritage structures in a number of ways.

The Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) assists with the repair and conservation of structures that are protected under the Planning and Development Acts or located within Architectural Conservation Areas.

The scheme funds a significant number of labour-intensive, small scale conservation projects across the country and supports employment for skilled and experienced conservation professionals, craftspeople and tradespersons in the repair of the historic built environment.

The Structures at Risk Fund (SRF) supports conservation works to heritage structures, in both private and public ownership, which are deemed to be at significant risk of deterioration. The Fund encourages the regeneration and reuse of heritage properties and helps to secure protected structures which might otherwise be lost.

The BHIS and SRF are both administered by the local authorities. Details of both schemes are available on all local authority websites and on my Department’s website.

The 2018 application dates for both of the schemes have now passed and projects approved for funding will be announced shortly. My Department remains in contact with local authorities throughout the year to ensure the best use of funding, including by reallocating unused funding where, for example, projects do not go ahead.

In the context of a particular building, especially one which is on the Record of Protected Structures, the best advice for the owner may be to contact the Architectural Conservation Officer or Heritage Officer in their local authority who will be able to advise on the various types of funding available to assist with the building.

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 2018 are advertised by the Heritage Council on its website www.heritagecouncil.ie.