Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023

PART 8

Inventories, Records and Research, Publication and Promotion of Public Knowledge and Awareness

Chapter 1

Inventories

Inventories

158. (1) The Minister may carry out, or cause to be carried out, such inventories of, or in relation to, historic heritage, World Heritage Property or property which is situated in the State that the Minister is satisfied may have the potential to become World Heritage Property as he or she considers appropriate.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Minister shall establish and maintain, or cause to be established and maintained, inventories in respect of each of the following:

(a) relevant things of archaeological interest;

(b) architectural heritage;

(c) wrecks of archaeological or historic interest.

(3) The carrying out of inventories under this section may include any form of investigation or recording relevant to or appropriate for the inventory concerned, including, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, searching for previously unidentified or unreported relevant things of a relevant interest.

(4) The Minister may do all or any of the following in respect of any inventory carried out under this section:

(a) determine the form, content and title or description of any such inventory;

(b) designate classes of the archaeological or architectural heritage or historic objects to be included in any particular inventory;

(c) amend, add to or delete from any such inventory.

(5) Subject to subsections (6) and (7), the Minister may make information from inventories carried out under this section available to public authorities or local authorities or publish or disseminate information from any such inventory in such manner as he or she may determine.

(6) Subject to subsection (7) the Minister shall, in exercising the power under subsection (5), have regard to the security, privacy and safety of persons or property that may be affected by the exercise of that power.

(7) Subject to subsection (8), neither subsection (5) nor (6) shall be construed to enable the Minister to disclose personal data.

(8) Subsection (7) shall not apply to personal data—

(a) which are bibliographic references, or

(b) which credit a person (and with that person’s consent thereto) with giving information forming part of an inventory carried out under this section.

(9) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the Minister from combining 2 or more inventories referred to in this section into one inventory.

(10) In this section, “personal data” means personal data within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 201611 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation).

11OJ No. L119, 4.5.2016, p. 1