John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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86. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on the level of support available to protect and restore vulnerable built-heritage and archaeological sites in Cork; if he will commit to enhanced funding under schemes such as the built heritage investment scheme and the historic structures fund for the coming year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65169/25]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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The Oireachtas votes funding each year for a variety of programmes to encourage and support investment in our built and archaeological heritage, including the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS), the Historic Structure Fund (HSF), and the Community Monuments Fund (CMF). Earlier this year, the National Built Heritage Service (NBHS) under my Department awarded a record allocation of €8.1m of funding under the BHIS, and a further €3.6m of funding under the HSF. The National Monuments Service (NMS) also awarded a further €7.5m to projects under the CMF.

Cork City Council and Cork County Council have received almost €2 million between the two local authorities from these three schemes. The process for the award of funding for next year is well underway, with local authorities currently processing applications received under the BHIS call which closed at the end of September, while also accepting HSF applications under the current open call which is due to close in January. The CMF application process is due to open imminently for applications for 2026. Notices of successful applicants under each of these schemes will issue early next year.

As is usual for these schemes, demand for grants exceeded the funding available, and projects seeking built heritage funding were prioritised according the significance of the structure in question, the quality and efficacy of the proposed works, and the contribution which the works would make to public amenity. Where a project awarded a BHIS grant does not proceed for some reason during the year, the local authority may re-allocate the savings to a project on its reserve list, which allows for efficient use of the allocated vote funding.

In view of the strong demand for these schemes and the excellent public value which it delivers, I hope to continue to maintain and enhance the allocation for these schemes in future years, subject of course to competing priorities and the availability of funds.