The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, TD, has published new guidelines for the public on the use of metal detection devices in Ireland.

The Minister said that the guidelines were being issued "in response to growing numbers of reports being received by my Department and the National Museum of Ireland of increasing levels of unauthorised and illegal use of metal detectors, often on important archaeological sites".

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While the legal position in relation to metal detectors is clearly set out in legislation, the Minister said there was a need for comprehensive guidance that would be "clear and understandable to the public".

The Minister said that there was also evidence from internet sites and elsewhere of "illegal treasure-hunting and export and sale of unlawfully retrieved archaeological objects".

The intention of the guidelines, the Minister said, was "to clear up any confusion that may be leading to unintentional breaches of the law, to provide individuals and groups with an unambiguous statement of the statutory provisions surrounding metal detecting and archaeological finds and to spell out the consequences of contravening the law."

The guidelines will also alert the public of the potential damage that can be caused to archaeological heritage by random unauthorised metal detecting.

(CD/JP)