Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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772. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will engage with the HSE to provide conservation-led improvements to a burial ground (details supplied), carry out a study of its historic importance and ascertain the persons buried there. [6517/19]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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My Department has received no communication from the HSE in relation to this matter.

I am not the owner of the burial ground and my Department is not, therefore, responsible for its ongoing care and maintenance. The Department's National Monuments Service would, however, be happy to provide advice and guidance, if requested, in relation to works such as those envisaged by the Deputy. Dublin City Council's Heritage Office might also be of assistance in that regard.

The burial ground is included in the Record of Monuments and Places maintained by the Department under the National Monuments Acts and is accordingly entitled to the protections of those Acts. This includes a requirement to give my Department two months advance notice of any works that might affect it.

My Department also 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. Full details of both of the schemes are available on my Department’s and on local authority websites.