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> Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:35:19 +0000
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [BRITARCH] Ireland's Heritage Sector Decimated by Punitive Cuts
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> From The Heritage Council in Ireland (www.heritagecouncil.ie):
>
> Ireland's Heritage Sector Decimated by Punitive Cuts - Heritage Council
> warns of job losses and tourism setback
>
> Heritage Council warns of job losses and tourism setback
>
> Monday 13th December: Punitive cuts, announced in last Tuesday's Budget,
> will decimate the heritage sector and close many small enterprises that
> are dependent on it. This will have detrimental effects on both our
> national heritage and the quality of our tourism offering, according to
> the Heritage Council.
>
> The Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government's Heritage
> Unit, which has responsibility for protected structures, including world
> heritage sites, suffered a 77% budget cut. National Parks and Wildlife,
> whose remit includes the protection of our natural heritage and running
> all our national parks, suffered a 56% cut. The Heritage Council, whose
> role is to protect, preserve and enhance Ireland's national heritage,
> suffered a 47% cut. This is on top of a 30% cut in 2010.
>
> Speaking about the situation, Chief Executive of the Heritage Council,
> Michael Starrett commented, "We are extremely concerned about the
> disproportionate nature of the cuts to the Heritage sector. While the
> heritage sector recognises that it must share the burden of the cuts
> required to tackle the country's economic crisis, the cuts announced
> last Tuesday are completely disproportionate in comparison to other
> Departmental cuts. As a result, the future of heritage initiatives
> nationwide which have created hundreds of jobs, empowered local
> communities and enhanced the value of heritage as a tourism resource,
> are severely threatened".
>
> "In 2009, over three million overseas visitors engaged in
> cultural/historical visits while in Ireland, and spent an estimated 1.9
> billion Euros while here. In particular, 76% of tourists identified
> landscape and nature as the primary reason for visiting Ireland, and
> heritage is what defines the uniqueness of a country. Funding will now
> no longer be available to protect and manage our iconic buildings,
> unique and threatened species, landscapes, cultural collections and rare
> artifacts, or indeed to support local communities in taking care of
> their everyday heritage".
>
> The majority of counties in Ireland have a County Heritage Plan which is
> prepared by Local Heritage Fora on behalf of the local people and the
> Local Authority. Research conducted in September 2010 by economist Jim
> Power examined the economic value of these County Heritage Plans. The
> implementation of these plans between 2004 and 2008 at a cost of 6.15m
> Euros supported the creation of 1,012 full-time jobs in small businesses
> across the regions, with an estimated return of 30.1 million Euros to
> the economy. Between 2004 and 2008, the 6.15m Euros that the Heritage
> Council invested over 26 local authority areas led to an additional
> investment of around 10 million Euros from other sources.
>
> Looking at the economic impact of an event such as the Irish Walled
> Towns Day held in Youghal during National Heritage Week, KPMG analysts
> found that support of 16,000 Euros to the Irish Walled Towns Network for
> the day brought a return of 480,000 Euros in to the local economy.
>
> Our shared heritage is the country's inheritance that we only get to
> borrow for a time, enjoy, and benefit enormously from but we have an
> obligation as a people to pass it on to future generations, Mr. Starrett
> said. These punitive cuts put at risk, not just jobs which are
> critically important, but also vulnerable aspects of the nation's unique
> natural and cultural heritage which now may be lost for ever to the
> country.
>
> "At this point, the day to day implications of the cuts are hard to
> fully estimate. What is clear from the Heritage Council's standing is
> that we will no longer be in a position to provide support for local
> community groups, non-governmental organisations, charities,
> individuals, small businesses, local authorities and others. This will
> make it extremely difficult for the survival of the wider heritage
> profession of conservators, thatchers, ecologists, archaeologists,
> conservation architects, museum curators and other specialist work such
> as researchers and data collectors.
>
> We cannot talk about the importance of marketing our heritage and
> promoting tourism if we cut the funding to those who work tirelessly
> behind the scenes to care for our heritage. The reality is that these
> unique heritage skills may now be lost to the nation along with the
> heritage assets and memory that these represent. We will all be poorer
> economically, environmentally and socially as a result", added Mr.
> Starrett.
>
> Media Queries:
> Michelle Guinan, MKC Communications 01 7038604 / 086 3846630
> Isabell Smyth, Heritage Council, 0879676889
>
> Note to editor:
>
> * In 2009 114,000 Euros was offered to 19 building conservation
> projects. Each grant required at least as much money again to be
> expended on the project (50% match funding). This represents a minimum
> two-times multiplier for the spend from the public purse. These grants
> resulted in the direct employment of at least 5 people per year.
> * In 2010 a total of 600,000 Euros was spent on conservation works
> to significant churches and cathedrals of all denominations. This single
> scheme created direct employment for 16 people.
> * Conservation works to our historic walled town defences (such as
> in Kilkenny, Cashel, Drogheda, Dublin city, Wexford) will be scaled back
> with the loss of 25 contracting and supervisory jobs.
> * A cessation in grants to historic buildings and thatched houses
> will see this iconic vernacular architecture put at risk and the loss of
> highly skilled thatchers.
> * The Irish Strategic Archaeological Research Programme allocated 2
> million Euros to advanced collaborative research in 2008-10. External
> review considered this scheme to be 'a spectacular success and a model
> for other countries to follow'. This created research posts for 25 young
> researchers making sense of the vast amounts of archaeological
> information generated during the recent boom. The survival of this
> scheme is now questionable.
>
> The Heritage Council is the statutory body charged with identifying,
> protecting, preserving and enhancing Ireland's national heritage.
> National heritage includes Monuments, Archaeological objects, Heritage
> objects, Architectural heritage, Flora, Fauna, Wildlife habitats,
> Landscapes, Seascapes, Wrecks, Geology, Heritage gardens and parks, and
> Inland waterways.
>
> Established under the Heritage Act 1995, and operating under the aegis
> of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the
> Heritage Council provides advice to the Minister, and partners and
> networks with Local Authorities and a wide range of other organisations
> and individuals to promote Ireland's heritage.
>
> See
>
> http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/news-press/heritage-council-corporate-news
> /view-article/article/irelands-heritage-sector-decimated-by-punitive-cut
> s/?tx_ttnews[backPid]=6&cHash=ad6f5c64d4
>
> Or
>
> http://is.gd/iFEvA
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