Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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90. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the supports provided to protect historic structures at risk in County Kildare in 2017 and to date in 2018; her plans for 2019 in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39806/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides financial support for the protection of heritage buildings and historic structures through a number of schemes which are generally administered by local authorities. The Built Heritage Investment Scheme is a scheme for the repair and conservation of protected structures on the local authority Record of Protected Structures. It is designed to leverage private capital for investment in small scale conservation projects across the country and to support the employment of skilled conservation professionals and tradespeople. I have allocated funding of €2m in total for this Scheme in 2018. In 2017 and 2018 a total of €100,000 was provided in grant aid under this scheme for 28 projects in County Kildare.

In addition the Structures at Risk Fund enables conservation works to heritage structures, in both private and public ownership, which are deemed to be at significant risk of deterioration. While I have allocated €1.3m for the Structures at Risk Fund in 2018, over the course of 2017 and 2018, a total of €119,000 was allocated to 5 projects in County Kildare. Details of the projects approved under both funding schemes are published on my Department’s website and on local authority websites.

In terms of future funding, Investing in our Culture, Language and Heritage 2018 – 2027 represents a major capital investment scheme of €1.2 billion in funding over the next 10 years, as part of Project Ireland 2040. This plan will see increased investment in protecting and celebrating our built heritage across the country. More details on the commencement and completion dates for projects and programmes, as well as the timing of the expenditure in relation to them, will emerge as we go through the process of appraisal and planning as required under the Public Spending Code.

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