Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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679. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount of funding allocated for heritage grants nationally by county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5203/19]

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 grant schemes which are generally administered by the local authorities.

The Built Heritage Investment Scheme(BHIS) is a scheme for the repair and conservation of 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, tradespersons and craftsmen and women.

The Historic Structures Fund (HSF) (formerly the Structures at Risk Fund) is for conservation and enhancement to heritage structures, in both private and public ownership, for the benefit of communities and the public.

In November 2018, I announced a total of €4.3 million in funding for the BHIS and HSF for 2019. Both schemes were open for applications from 28 November to 31 January and applications will be assessed with successful applicants to be notified in due course.

Full details of both of the schemes are available on my Department’s website and on each local authority’s website.

I approved a further €1 million in funding nationally for the Historic Towns Initiative 2019, which is a joint initiative of my Department and the Heritage Council. Applications must be made to the Heritage Council by local authorities before the closing date of 8 February. The applications will be assessed by an expert panel and successful towns will be notified shortly thereafter.

The Heritage Council also provides other grants for the protection and preservation of our 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. Details are published by the Heritage Council on its websitewww.heritagecouncil.ie.

Amounts awarded by County in 2018: Structures at Risk Fund

2018: Amounts awarded by County under the Built Heritage Investment Scheme