Heritage Schemes Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-04 ============================================================ John Cummins (FG), Waterford I thank Senator Scahill for raising this matter today which I am taking on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy O’Sullivan, in my Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I am aware the Senator has discussed the Farming Rathcroghan EIP in this House in the past and I know he has a deep interest in this archaeological and biologically rich landscape. The archaeological landscape of Rathcroghan is part of the royal sites of Ireland tentative world heritage application that the relevant local authorities are currently progressing towards inscription on the UNESCO world heritage list in partnership with the National Monuments Service and the OPW. Part of the lands at Rathcroghan are in State ownership and the National Monuments Service works in partnership with the OPW to conserve and protect these particular sites. The Senator will be aware the Farming Rathcroghan project was initially funded through the European Innovation Partnership from 2019 to 2023 and later funded and expanded through the EU just transition fund from 2024 to the present. The managing authority for the just transition fund is the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly, which, along with Pobal, acting on behalf of the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, has overall responsibility for the implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation of the programme. The Farming Rathcroghan project received more than €900,000 from the just transition fund, just under the maximum funding threshold, which is €1 million. As a result, the project is not eligible for any additional funding beyond the amount already provided. I am aware of how successful this European Innovation Partnership, EIP, project has been in supporting and training up to 90 farmers over the past eight years and in its stewardship of this important landscape, including the protection of more than 260 archeological sites. I also fully understand the disappointment of Farming Rathcroghan at not being successful in its application to Horizon Europe cluster 2 for further funding, and the Senator articulated that well this afternoon. Last year, the National Monuments Service launched a pilot capital scheme to support minor works across potential world heritage sites. Slightly more than €63,000 was awarded to Farming Rathcroghan EIP via Roscommon County Council for works including interpretation surveys, heritage signage, management of vegetation and livestock interaction around key monuments, and repairs to and registration of traditional dry stone walls. This pilot scheme has again been announced for 2026. I encourage Farming Rathcroghan to reapply. I am aware the Senator is reflecting the feelings of many farmers in the area who are disappointed with the outcome of the funding application to Horizon Europe. It is important to note the National Monuments Service does not have responsibility for developing or managing agri-environmental schemes. However, that said, the National Monuments Service intends to establish in the coming years a support scheme for landowners across world heritage properties in Ireland, supporting farmers in the custodianship of these historic landscapes and the archeological features on them. This support scheme will be both complementary to existing and future agri-environmental schemes and stand-alone in nature. However, given the complexity of developing the scheme, it will require consultation with other key partners, including the Department of agriculture, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment and critically, local authorities, which are leading the world heritage nomination bid in partnership with the National Monuments Service and the OPW. I am sure the Senator will appreciate that the Department's priority is the archeological landscape. We can certainly get the National Monuments Service to examine what level of support can be directed to the Farming Rathcroghan project for the archeological elements. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-04/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:35+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-04