Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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95. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if consideration has been given to granting protected status to so-called ‘benchmarks’ which were erected at various points around the country in the 1800s as part of the "Principal Spirit Lines of Levelling" project of the ordnance Survey; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52321/25]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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My role with regard to the protection and management of our architectural heritage is set out in the provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), as are the roles of local authorities and the responsibilities of owners.

Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, gives primary responsibility to local authorities to identify and protect the architectural heritage of their area by including structures of special interest on the Record of Protected Structures (RPS), and by designating areas of special interest as architectural conservation areas (ACAs).

Inclusion of a structure on the RPS places a duty of care on its owners and occupiers and also gives local authorities powers to safeguard the building's future. If the local authority deem the heritage value of these Ordnance Survey 'benchmarks' to be worthy of statutory protection in this manner, it is at their discretion to specify them, or potentially the buildings or structures on which they are carved, for inclusion on the RPS for their area.