Paul McGrath
Question:236 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the measures, if any, which have been taken by the Office of Public Works to ensure that material and information of archaeological interest is preserved since planning permission currently exists for a site (details supplied) in County Westmeath in view of the importance of this site to the area; when this site was first brought to the attention of the national monument's service; the manner in which this was brought to their attention; when it was first visited by an archaeologist from her Department; if she will give details of this first assessment; the subsequent visits, if any, there have been by this archaeologist; if so, when these visits took place; the alterations, if any, there were to the plans originally inspected by her Department; if these alterations were brought to the attention of her Department; if so, by whom and the date of this notification; if a subsequent visit or visits took place to the site by her Department's personnel; if an archaeological impact statement was sought by the national monuments section; if so, when this occurred; if a statement was provided; if so, if it is available for inspection; if the national monuments section has recommended that a licensed archaeologist be employed on the site while work is in progress; if the significant finds on an adjoining site in 1996 when an archaeologist was on site have been noted; and if she will make a statement on the significance of this area to the history of Mullingar. [2645/98]