asked the Minister for Local Government if he will make grants available for the thatching of cottages and dwelling houses.

Reconstruction grants under the Housing Acts, 1966 to 1970, are made available in respect of thatching of cottages and dwelling houses.

I am aware of the fact that grants can be made available if these cottages and houses are reconstructed. Would the Minister not be prepared to make a grant available where there is nothing involved except the thatching or rethatching of a house?

The Deputy will be aware that the rethatching of a house has to be done fairly frequently to keep the house in good repair. It would mean that with the rethatching having to take place every few years grants in respect of the work would have to be paid much more frequently than on other houses and I would not be prepared to waive the regulation.

I am asking the Minister to introduce a new scheme of grants specifically for thatched houses. Does he not recognise that there are many such houses throughout the country that could be preserved? In these times of housing scarcity, which my colleagues have amply illustrated by means of questions already, where any house can be preserved and kept in the housing stock this should be done. Would the Minister not consider a separate and distinct scheme of grants in respect of thatched houses which would enable them to be thatched regularly, thereby preserving them for occupation?

No, I think the Deputy will agree that while there is an arrangement whereby a thatched house can be covered by a grant it would be unreasonable if we had a specific grant covering only the thatching of a house. There are dozens of things that, when considered on their own, appear to qualify for special attention. It would be wrong at this stage to introduce specific grants for the thatching of houses.

Does the Minister not agree that thatched houses and cottages are in a special category? They are attractive and they help to make the countryside more interesting for tourists and for all of us. A special scheme for thatched houses and cottages could be justified because valuable and important houses could be preserved in the housing stock. Otherwise they will deteriorate and fall into ruin, as is happening throughout the country.

This is a very long question.

Does the Minister not agree that if he had a special scheme for such houses—they are unique, distinctive and attractive—it would be a socially desirable course of action?

Has the Deputy a thatched house on one of the Blasket Islands?

I may have yet.

If he has, the Deputy will not put the old type of thatch on it. I agree that the old thatched houses are getting scarcer but the reason is not so much the thatching but the fact that many of them have mud walls and they are not able to stand the rigours of time. Many of them were built many years ago. I would be prepared to look at the matter but I cannot offer a lot of hope to the Deputy that the scheme he proposes can be introduced at the present time.

I am grateful for that undertaking. Apart from the simple question of preserving houses for residential purposes there are also important civic, amenity and tourist considerations involved.

That may be so. However, it could mean that we would be diverting money from local government. If the Deputy is talking about the tourism aspect, another Department might be better looking after that.

There are a variety of considerations.

Has the Minister stated that the grants are available for new thatched houses or for reconstruction?

There is no objection to the use of thatch as a roofing material under section 21 if it is not a second grant case. Therefore, new houses would appear to be in.

I understood from the Department that each case was considered on its merits.

We have not changed the scheme. It must have been introduced when Deputy Brennan was in office.