24 Mr. L. Burke asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the position regarding the updating of a register of national monuments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10811/98]

The Register of Historic Monuments provided for under the National Monuments Acts, 1930 to 1994, is updated on an ongoing basis. It includes some 4,000 monument sites, in State ownership and guardianship, protected under preservation orders and protected under listings/"Registrations". The register is continually added to. However, one of the most significant effects of the 1994 National Monuments (Amendment) Act was the extension of legal protection to cover all recorded monuments on an accelerated "blanket" basis. Section 12 of that Act provides for the establishment of a "Record of Monuments and Places"— RMP. This provides for comprehensive legal protection for all recorded monuments. In this way protection is being extended to some 150,000 monuments nation-wide, as against some 4,000 prior to this. To date sites in 21 counties enjoy legal protection under the National Monuments Acts, 1930-1994, as "Record Monuments" and it is intended to extend coverage to the remaining counties this year.