Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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587. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the financial support available to Sligo County Council for the protection of a location (details supplied) which is in disrepair; the estimated cost of assessing such a structure; if funds will be released to Sligo County Council for a feasibility study; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53524/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The building complex mentioned by the deputy is recorded in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH), which is maintained by my Department, and forms the basis of recommendations to local authorities for inclusion of structures on their Record of Protected Structures under the Planning and Development Acts.  The buildings are included in Sligo County Councils RPS and as such are protected structures within the meaning of the Planning and Development Acts.

Inclusion on the RPS places a duty of care on the owners and occupiers of protected structures. They are legally required to make sure that the structure does not become endangered through neglect, decay, damage or harm.

Inclusion on the RPS also gives planning authorities a number of powers to deal with such structures and safeguard their future. If a protected structure is endangered, the planning authority can serve a notice on the owner or occupier, requiring them to carry out any work that it considers necessary to protect it.

Financial support is provided by my Department through a number of 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 Historic Structures Fund. I recently launched both schemes for 2019 and they are open for applications. Details of the schemes are available on all local authority websites and on my Department’s website. 

The Heritage Council, which my Department funds, also provides grants for the protection of historic sites and buildings. The allocation of its resources across the range of programmes and supports it provides is primarily a matter for the Heritage Council. Details of grants are available on the Heritage Council’s website www.heritagecouncil.ie.