The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, is very welcome.

The Minister of State is very welcome today. I think it is important that I briefly explain what Rathcroghan is and what the Farming Rathcroghan model project is. Rathcroghan - the fort of Cruachan - is an ancient capital of Connacht and is one of the most important archaeological landscapes in Ireland and in Europe. Rathcroghan is recognised as the oldest and largest unexcavated royal site in Europe, a landscape where history, mythology, farming and community life have existed side by side for thousands of years.

It is a landscape where history, mythology, farming and community life have existed side by side for thousands of years. The Farming Rathcroghan project is a pioneering initiative in County Roscommon that works with local farmers to protect this unique archaeological landscape while allowing farming to continue in a sustainable and heritage-sensitive way. Over recent years it has supported 90 farmers and helped to manage and protect more than 260 internationally significant archaeological sites across roughly 40 sq. km.

Continued support for the Farming Rathcroghan project is essential and unfortunately it is urgent because right now, this project is facing a very real and immediate threat. If additional support is not secured the project is due to cease at the end of March. I did try to get this Commencement matter in last week so I am sorry for the short notice. Without additional funding the project office, the staff of five and all related schemes will cease to exist. If the administrative structure is lost the entire project, built over eight years, is at risk of collapsing completely.

The evidence that supports the Farming Rathcroghan project is very clear. Since its launch the project has supported 90 farmers. It has protected over 260 archaeological sites, developed a best practice model for managing heritage within working farmland and leveraged approximately €2.5 million in competitive EU funding to deliver real outcomes on the ground. It has created training programmes, community engagement models and practical conservation measures while building strong trust and participation among farmers acting as custodians of this nationally and internationally significant landscape.

The most immediate priority right now must be the retention of the administrative staff because without them, funding applications cannot be prepared or managed, farmer supports cannot be co-ordinated and heritage protection measures cannot be overseen. The organisational structure that holds everything together would disappear. If there is any hope of maintaining this project, even on an interim basis, the administrative core must be protected. Retaining the small but highly skilled team is the bridge between where this project is now and any future funding solutions. Losing them means losing momentum, expertise, relationships and credibility.

This must become a priority for the Heritage Council, the OPW and the National Monuments Service. These are the agencies with responsibility for protecting our heritage. This project has demonstrated over eight years that farmers can be active partners in heritage protection and not obstacles to it. What is needed now is immediate practical support and at a minimum to retain administrative staff and maintain the core structure of the project while alternative funding streams are secured because once this infrastructure is lost, rebuilding it will be vastly more difficult and far more expensive. We are not being asked to fund an untested idea; we are being asked to fund a proven protective programme, an award winning model that protects heritage, supports farmers, strengthens rural communities and enhances Ireland’s cultural standing. Allowing it to disappear now when it is delivering real results would be a profound loss locally, nationally and internationally. If we want this project to survive, we must act now.

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.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He mentioned the National Monuments Service intends to establish in the coming years a support scheme for landowners across world heritage properties in Ireland. The blueprint for that idea is the Farming Rathcroghan project because over eight years it has demonstrated its ability. It has gone above and beyond accessing European funding. As the Minister of State mentioned, between the just transition fund and the European Innovation Partnership, 88% of its funding has been secured since 2019. Only 1% of its funding in that time came from the National Monuments Service.

The Minister of State mentioned the world heritage strategic investment fund. Some 2.8% of the project's funding came from that. The Heritage Council gave it approximately 6% of its funding over the period, as far as I know. At this point, the team on the ground has reached the end. It needs support and to be given the opportunity to try to source additional funding, which it has proved it is able to do in the past. If the Minister of State, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, were here, I would ask him for a meeting. I will pass the request on to him to see if he can facilitate that meeting. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, for coming.

I will relay the Senator's comments to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, and ask him to facilitate a meeting.

As the Senator will appreciate, and as I said in my initial response, the heritage unit in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has to focus on national monuments, heritage and archaeological elements as opposed to the agri-environmental scheme, which accounted for a significant chunk of the funding secured through the European just transition fund and the European Innovation Partnership. The Senator rightly pointed this out by way of a diagram provided to me before this debate.

I will take the points the Senator made back to the Department. In devising a scheme in the context of something that has been shown to have worked well, his feedback will be taken on board.

I thank the Minister of State for giving of his time. It is appreciated. We have six Commencement matters and six different Ministers coming in, which is a big story in itself.