Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount remaining in the Caranua fund; his views on whether the closure of the fund to applicants from 1 August 2018 is appropriate; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Education and Skills On 29th May of this year, I published the Review of Eligibility of Persons to access the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund (“Caranua”).  The Review shows clearly that the monies available to Caranua will be fully spent for the group of former residents whom the fund was originally targeted.  It is clear also that the fundis not going to be undersubscribed and should therefore continue to be used for the benefit of those former residents.

Following the publication of the Review Caranua announced that it would cease to accept applications with effect from 1 August next. Caranua is a statutory body which is independent in its decisions on the management and disbursement of the funding which was provided by the religious congregations.  Caranua has publicised this cessation date and I would encourage anyone who has yet to submit an application to do so before 1 August. I have asked Caranua to continue to accept applications in cases of hardship or in exceptional circumstances, after the date on which general applications will cease to be accepted.  I have also called on Caranua to make every possible effort to engage with survivors and their representatives.

Caranua have already placed advertisements in a number of national and foreign newspapers highlighting the cessation date, have engaged with survivor support groups, as well as other organisations that may work with people who may be eligible to apply for support funding.

Statistics on Caranua’s expenditure are available from their website at www.caranua.ie.

Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of vacancies on State boards under the remit of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30584/18]

Richard Bruton T.D., Minister for Education and Skills Details of the State Boards that fall under the remit of my Department, including details on board appointments and vacancies, are available on my Department’s website at the following link: https://www.education.ie/en/The-Department/Agencies/.

The information requested by the Deputy in regard to the number of vacant posts on boards is provided in the following table.

As the Deputy will be aware, individuals may be nominated for appointment by various organisations arising from the terms in the relevant legislation regarding the Body concerned and accordingly board appointments made by me are not in all cases made at my discretion.

The Department of Education and Skills – Details of Board vacancies as at July 6th 2018

Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if the former Magdalene laundry on Sean McDermott Street will be prevented from being sold to private persons for use as a hotel as a first step in developing a place to be used in a manner which would benefit the community and that would recognise the history of the site.

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: My role as Minister, with regard to the protection and management of our built heritage is set out in the provisions of relevant legislation, as are the roles of planning authorities and the responsibilities of owners.

The Planning and Development Acts give primary responsibility to planning authorities to identify and protect our architectural heritage by including relevant structures on the Record of Protected Structures (RPS).

As Minister, I draw on information from my Department’s National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH), to recommend structures to the planning authorities for inclusion on their RPS.  Three buildings associated with the former Magdalene Laundry on Sean McDermott Street are recorded in the NIAH and have been recommended to Dublin City Council for inclusion on the RPS.

The addition or deletion of a building to or from the RPS is a reserved function of the planning authority.

I understand that the building referred to by the Deputy is in the ownership of the local authority. As such, any decision as to the disposal of the building or its future use will be a matter for them.

I am informed that a report on the proposed development of the site is being prepared by the local authority. Any development proposal will also be subject to the usual requirements of the planning process.