archaeological & built heritage assessment - The Heritage Council

Section 3 (3) of the 1987 Act provides that within a restricted area a person shall not dive on, damage, or
generally interfere with, any wreck or archaeological object except in accordance with a licence issued by
the MoEHLG under Section 3 (5) of the Act.
Without prejudice to any other circumstances in which it may be appropriate, the making of an
underwater heritage order in respect of an underwater archaeological object or wreck of archaeological
interest will be considered by the MoEHLG if there are grounds for believing that the protection of such a
wreck or object would be better secured by the control of activities within a specifically designated area
around the wreck or object.
Architectural and Built Heritage
Protection of architectural or built heritage is provided for through a range of legal instruments that
include the Heritage Act, 1995, the Architectural Heritage (National Inventory) and National Monuments
(Misc. Provisions) Act, 1999, and the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act 2000. Section
2.1 of the Heritage Act, 1995, describes architectural heritage as ‘all structures, buildings, traditional and
designed, and groups of buildings including streetscapes and urban vistas, which are of historical,
archaeological, artistic, engineering, scientific, social or technological interest, together with their setting,
attendant grounds, fixtures, fittings and contents, and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing,
includes railways and related buildings and structures and any place comprising the remains or traces of
any such railway, building or structure’.
The Heritage Council was established the Heritage Act, 1995. The Council seeks to promote the interest
in, knowledge and protection of Irish heritage, including the architectural resource. The Heritage Act
provides for the protection of all heritage buildings owned by a local authority from damage and
destruction.
The work of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) was first founded on Article 2 of
the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe (Granada
Convention). Article 2 states that for the purpose of precise identification of monuments, groups of
structures and sites to be protected, each member state will undertake to maintain inventories of that
architectural heritage. Ireland's undertaking under article 2 of the Granada Convention is now enshrined
in the Architectural Heritage (National Inventory) and Historic Monuments (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Act, 1999. The Act requires the Minister to establish a survey to identify, record and evaluate the
architectural heritage of the country. The function of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
(NIAH) is to record all built heritage structures within the Republic of Ireland. Inclusion in an NIAH
inventory does not provide statutory protection; the document is used to advise local authorities on
compilation of a Record of Protected Structures as required by the Local Government (Planning and
Development) Act, 2000. A draft NIAH county inventory has been compiled for County Roscommon,
while a draft NIAH urban study has been completed for Carrick-on-Shannon.
Protection under the Development Plan
Under the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 2000, all Planning Authorities are obliged
to keep a ‘Record of Protected Structures’ of special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic,
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