Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 October 2026
105. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has responded to a letter sent to his Department by An Taisce about a proposed housing development (details supplied); and whether he intends to exercise the powers outlined in the letter by An Taisce. [68197/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraHas there been a response to, or a decision made on, the letter sent to the Minister’s Department by An Taisce about a proposed housing development? People may have read about this development, particularly online. It is the housing development located close to what is known as Cú Chulainn’s Castle in Dundalk. An Taisce laid out its fears about ensuring that this national monument is looked after. It spoke about particular legislation that could be employed in this regard. I am interested to hear what the Minister has to say.
I thank the Deputy for asking this important question. A response was issued from my Department to the correspondence received from An Taisce on this matter. As outlined in that reply, Dún Dealgan, which is also known as Cú Chulainn’s Castle, is a national monument - national monument No. 388 - in ministerial guardianship and, therefore, already has a high level of protection under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014. Such statutory protection will continue to carry over to the Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 when the relevant aspects of that Act are commenced.
In recognition of its national importance and by reason of the historical, archaeological and architectural interest attached thereto, Dún Dealgan Motte, in accordance with the provisions of the National Monuments Act 1930, as amended, was brought into the guardianship of the Minister for heritage in 1940. As such, the national monument is afforded the most robust statutory protections under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014.
On the basis of its legal status as a national monument, any works to Dún Dealgan Motte can only be lawfully carried out with the written consent of the Minister, which is granted following consultation with the National Museum of Ireland under section 14 of the National Monuments Act 1930, as amended. The requirement for such consent also extends to any ground disturbance around or in proximity to any such national monument.
The presence of recorded monuments, such as a standing stone, LH007-118006, and a souterrain, LH007-118008, in proximity to Dún Dealgan further underpins the significance of the site. I confirm that these recorded monuments are also afforded statutory protections in accordance with section 12(3) of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994.
I thank the Minister for his answer. One of the requests from An Taisce suggested that an archaeological investigation and test would be carried out before the application was granted permission. The application has since been granted permission, albeit with some changes by Louth County Council. I understand that it is now with An Coimisiún Pleanála and that a number of observations have been submitted. There will be people who fall in a number of places on this issue. We know the importance of this site. We are talking about a Norman motte and bailey castle. We know it goes right back and is connected to the mythology of Cú Chulainn. It is known as Cú Chulainn’s Castle or Byrne’s Folly. Over many years, however, there has been a failure to consider this entire area a proper heritage site. Work needs to be done in that regard.
An Taisce stated that the buffer zone of 5.2 ha of open space around the castle cited by Louth County Council is totally inadequate to maintain the ambience of the complex of monuments. It spoke about the special powers the Minister has under legislation in this regard. While I understand that An Coimisiún Pleanála is going to go through this process, there is a need to look at this from the point of view of ensuring that we do what is best, which has not been done previously by Louth County Council and others, to protect this site so that it can be enjoyed in a far better way than has been the case to date.
The Deputy touched on an important aspect of what our heritage section does, ensuring our heritage sites are both protected and accessible and not put away or wrapped in bubble wrap. Rather, they will be accessible for this generation and future generations to appreciate, understand and enjoy.
Notwithstanding the statutory protections afforded to Dún Dealgan under the National Monuments Act, the Department, in its submission to the respective local authority, recommended a suite of archaeological conditions for the proposed development. The recommended archaeological conditions were informed by a further archaeological assessment provided in May 2026, which was reviewed by Department officials and included results of test excavations carried out in 2020 and 2026. Additional archaeological assessment provided in May 2026 was requested by Department officials in January 2026 following a review of the initial archaeological assessment, which summarised the results of the archaeological test excavations and a geophysical survey.
I am not taking away from the work that has been carried out from an archaeological due diligence point of view. A number of people are worried about this. I have already made the argument that there has been a failure to look after Cú Chulainn’s Castle in general. Work needs to be done in that regard, whatever the outworkings of this case.
I understand that the zone of 5.2 ha is slightly greater now following the changes Louth County Council introduced, but people are still worried. They talk of both the area and the views that will be impacted. I have also heard a number of people say that they do not want to see houses go by in the midst of a housing crisis. Will the Minister promise that his Department will look at aspects of this development, such as the 50 m buffer, to determine whether they are sufficient? Many say that buffer needs to be extended.
I accept there is an issue with the building of houses. There will be people who will be utterly opposed to building houses that impact them personally, but that is not where I or many of the people who have contacted me are coming from. It is about protecting the structure, doing what we can and ensuring that all the necessary sight lines are maintained.
The Deputy is correct. A buffer area of 50 m should be implemented. That was a recommendation and condition of the local authority to ensure the continued protection of the archaeological setting. It was also recommended that no groundworks, including boundary works, landscaping or ground reduction are to be carried out within the buffer area, and the area should be fenced off and protected during construction and should not be used for storage or vehicular access, for example. In addition to the buffer zone of 50 m, additional archaeological conditions to ensure the continued preservation of other objects of archaeological interest within the proposed development were also outlined.
