1060. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the next round of funding is coming on stream under the Historic Structures Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42231/26]

1061. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reasons for the refusal of a Historic Structures Fund 2026 application (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42234/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1060 and 1061 together.

The National Built Heritage Service (NBHS) within my Department provides financial support for the protection of eligible heritage buildings and historic structures through the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) and the Historic Structures Fund (HSF) which are both, in the main, administered by the local authorities. The HSF provides grants of between €50,000 and €200,000 for a wide range of conservation works.

Applications are made in the first instance to the local authorities, who send a shortlist to my Department for assessment by an expert panel which makes its recommendations to me for my final approval. Applications are assessed under a series of clearly defined criteria:

• Significance of the structure.

• Efficacy of the grant in achieving the aims of the Historic Structures Fund.

• Quality of the methodology and technical merit of the works proposed.

• Contribution of the proposed works to keeping the structure in use, or bringing it back into use.

• Broader public or community benefit of the project.

The HSF is a nationally competitive scheme and the standard of conservation projects received is always very high with the scheme always over-subscribed. This year my Department received 117 applications with 40 projects ultimately being awarded funding for 2026. Unfortunately, the application referenced did not score highly enough in the national assessment in order to be awarded funding on this occasion.

While further consideration cannot be given to unsuccessful applications, officials in my Department can, at the request of the relevant local authority, provide feedback in respect of an individual application, which may be of benefit should the applicant wish to apply to the scheme in subsequent years. A revised application for the structure would be welcome when the scheme reopens later this year.