Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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212. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason the Céide Fields neolithic site and visitor centre in north Mayo was not included in the last tentative list submitted by the Government to the World Heritage Centre, having previously been included; when the next tentative list will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre; if the Céide Fields visitor centre will be included or not; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45753/24]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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In line with UNESCO advice that World Heritage Tentative Lists be reviewed and updated at least every ten years, my Department launched a call for applications in January 2019 to a new Tentative List for Ireland. The Tentative List is essentially an inventory of potential sites that Ireland intends to nominate for inclusion on the World Heritage List. Each site on the Tentative List must demonstrate potential Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), integrity, authenticity, long-term protection and management frameworks, and evidence of local stakeholder support - all critical components of a nomination dossier.

My Department's policy is that potential applications to the Tentative List are sponsored and led by the relevant local authority and key stakeholders/landowners in the first instance. This is crucial in order to generate stakeholder and community engagement and support at local level, particularly in light of the requirement under UNESCO Operational Guidelines for community participation and public consultation.

Before and during the call for applications, my Department contacted each of the local authorities with properties on the 2010 Tentative list to advise them that the list was under review. My Department received six applications for inclusion on a new Tentative List by the deadline of 30 June 2021, as follows:

1. The Cultural Landscape of the Burren Uplands, County Clare;

2. Iniscealtra (Inis Cealtra / Inishcaltra / Holy Island), County Clare;

3. Trans-Atlantic Cable Ensemble: Valentia, County Kerry &Heart's Content, Newfoundland, Canada;

4. The Royal Sites of Ireland;

5. The Passage Tomb Landscape of County Sligo; and

6. Glendalough Valley, County Wicklow.

No application was received in respect of the Céide Fields, in effect removing itself from consideration for inclusion on the current Tentative List. This does not however preclude it from being included in future iterations of the list.

After an extensive review, the new Tentative List for Ireland was announced in July 2022 and a comprehensive Technical Valuation was published which sets out how each site was evaluated and the basis for its inclusion in the new list. That report can be found at worldheritageireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/World-Heritage-Tentative-List-Technical-Evaluation.pdf

It is envisaged that Ireland’s Tentative List process will be reopened for review within the next five years to allow my Department assess other sites that may be proposed and which may demonstrate potential OUV. This may include sites on the 2010 Tentative List - such as the Céide Fields - for which applications were not submitted in 2021. Evidence of local community and stakeholder support for World Heritage status are critical requirements in respect of applications to the Tentative List.

My Department has published a guide to World Heritage nomination that is available at www.worldheritageireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/A-Guide-to-World-Heritage-Nomination-WH-Advice-Series-No.1-April-24.pdf