Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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1645. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if there is funding available that a voluntary group can apply for that would assist financially in the restoration of a building (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15736/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The building mentioned has been recorded by my Department as being of Regional significance on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and recommended for inclusion in the Record of Protected Structures (RPS) by the planning authority. Inclusion on the RPS places a duty of care on the owners and occupiers of protected structures and also gives planning authorities a number of powers to deal with such structures and safeguard their future. The inclusion of a structure on the RPS is a reserved function of the planning authority.

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

Projects to be funded under these schemes in 2018 were announced recently and details are available on all local authority websites and on my Department’s website. While the closing date for the 2018 schemes has now passed, my Department remains in contact with local authorities throughout the year to ensure the best possible use of funding, including by reallocating funds when, for example, projects do not go ahead.

In the context of a particular building, the best advice may be to contact the Architectural Conservation Officer or Heritage Officer in the 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.