Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Under the provisions of the National Monuments Acts, my Department has established and maintains a Record of Monuments and Places (RMP) which affords legal protection to all recorded archaeological sites and monuments in the State, including the passage tomb on privately owned land such as Cairns Hill.

The National Monuments Acts permit me, as Minister, to acquire a monument which I, as Minister, consider the preservation of which to be a matter of national importance (i.e. a national monument as defined for the purposes of the National Monuments Acts), or to take such a monument into my guardianship or (where it appears that the monument is in danger) to make a preservation order in relation to it.

In the event that it appears appropriate or necessary that any of the above steps be taken in relation to the passage tomb at Cairns Hill, consideration will be given by my Department to such action.