Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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35. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps that have been taken to protect the building listed on his Department's protected structures list at Moatville, Charleville, County Cork, which is in a perilous state and needs protection and intervention. [46967/22]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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My role with regard to the protection and management of our architectural heritage is set out in the provisions of relevant legislation, including the Planning and Development Acts, as are the roles of local authorities and the responsibilities of owners.

With regard to the safeguarding of protected structures, Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000 gives primary responsibility to local authorities to identify and protect architectural heritage by including particular structures on their respective Records of Protected Structures (RPS) and overseeing their proper development and maintenance accordingly. Inclusion on the RPS places a duty of care on the owners and occupiers of protected structures and also gives planning authorities powers to deal with any developments affecting them. Owners or occupiers of a protected structure are legally obliged to prevent it becoming endangered, whether through damage or neglect.

As the building in question is listed on the RPS of the local authority, enforcement is a matter for them and my Department has no role in the matter. However the matter has been brought to the attention of Cork County Council following your query.

Cork County Council have informed me that the structure itself is currently in the ownership of Kerry Ingredients (Ireland) Ltd. At the time of its addition to the Record of Protected Structures, the property was located within the production facility of Kerry Ingredients (Ireland) Ltd.

In February 2022 a planning application was lodged for the expansion of the current processing facility under Planning Reference Number 22/4226.

As a part of the granting this application, there is a series of conservation works the applicants must complete to Moatville House prior to first operation of the new processing plant and a series of further works to Moatville House that must be carried out within a timeframe agreed with the Planning Authority. The full suite of planning documents and reports are available to the public online at the Cork County Council website planning.corkcoco.ie/ePlan).