Children under the age of 12 are to be given free admission to all heritage sites with fees managed by the Office of Public Works Heritage Service from this Saturday, July 1st.
Children under six were already admitted for free and the OPW also offered free access to schoolchildren under their Free Schools Visits scheme.
However, the scheme has now been extended to all children under the age of twelve, until the end of 2017.
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The Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Kevin Boxer Moran, said it will provide "a huge opportunity to encourage our children to experience some of the best cultural and heritage sites in the country.
"We have some wonderful places to visit like Clonmacnoise, Kilkenny Castle, Newgrange and the Rock of Cashel and I want every child to have an opportunity to visit them with their families during the summer holidays and up to the end of the year," he added
The OPW manages seventy sites throughout Ireland, forty-seven of which are paid admission with an average children's price of €3.00 each.
Advance booking is not required at the majority of OPW managed Heritage sites so intending visitors can simply present themselves at the Reception in the normal way and they will pay admission fees for anyone aged 12+ only.
Advance online booking services are available at two sites - Dublin Castle and Kilmainham Gaol - and the relevant booking websites for these properties will have an under 12 option (at zero cost) on their booking pages from this weekend.
