Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

581. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will afford protection or recognition to the coastal Éire signs that were put in place during the Second World War; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54762/25]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 (the Act) was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, and enacted on 13 October 2023.

While the Act is now law, its provisions are being brought into force on a phased basis, by way of a series of Commencement Orders. When fully commenced, the Act will introduce a range of measures designed to bolster the protection afforded to Ireland’s heritage.

One aspect of this will be the provision of automatic protection for classes of monuments prescribed in regulations made by me, as Minister, under the Act. The structures referred to would be eligible for inclusion in the new Register of Monuments to be established under the Act of 2023, in line with the wide scope of the new legislation and will be afforded appropriate protection. Indeed, signs designed to be read from aircraft for the purpose of warning military aircraft between 1939 and 1946 are specifically identified in the regulations.