asked the Taoiseach the steps, if any, he is taking to ensure that owners of thatched cottages are encouraged to retain and maintain these structures.

I refer to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 2 on 2 May 1989, when I informed the Deputy that this matter is being considered by the National Heritage Council in the context of architectural conservation, particulartly vernacular architecture.

The council are working towards a general policy on the conservation of thatched buildings in this country. In the meantime, they will consider proposals for individual projects which might be grant-aided.

I remember well when the Taoiseach answered the question on 2 May and I was hoping something would have been done in the meantime. Daily I can see the thatch being taken off thatched houses and replaced by slates, tiles or, even worse, corrugated iron. Surely this is a totally undersirable activity, and attempts must be made to subsidise the rethatching of those houses, otherwise their numbers will decline seriously. Would the Taoiseach take the matter in hand with a view to ensuring that there is a general scheme as opposed to one that would apply only to houses in respect of which there are preservation orders?

I commend the Deputy for his interest in this area. I am aware that this is an issue he has been pursuing for some time. I merely wish to reassure him that at last there are a body who are taking the matter in hand and who will bring forward policies in relation to it.

Can the Taoiseach say if the National Heritage Council will have sufficient finances available to them to enable them to carry out their wishes in this regard? Will they be in a position to finance a scheme from which people will be subsidised for the purpose of rethatching, rather than replacing, these houses?

Yes, they will have the finance.

Will the Taoiseach's Department be making those finances available to the council?

We have already made £1 million available to them and it is proposed to give them further funds.

In the interest of clarification, has this £1 million been made available for the maintenance and preservation of thatched cottages? Secondly, is the Taoiseach aware that it seems to be the policy of many building societies not to give mortgages in respect of thatched cottages, that this discourages Irish people from purchasing any of these houses that come on the market, thereby ensuring that they fall into the hands of wealthy foreigners?

We are having an extension of the subject matter of the question.

The matter of the activities of the building societies would be more appropriate to the Minister for the Environment. The point is that the National Heritage Council have taken this issue aboard and are considering it. They will bring forward a policy in regard to thatched cottages.

Is the £1 million specifically for the preservation of thatched cottages?

No.

There is a great deal of sympathy towards the matter of the plight of those houses but the difficulty seems to be shortage of funds to enable them to be preserved.

The £1 million was for the general purpose of the National Heritage Council. They have used the money wisely and economically and to great advantage. We will put them in further funds now to enable them to continue their work.

Thatched cottages are rare enough in the Dublin area.

There is a very beautiful one, perhaps the most outstanding of all, in Malahide.

There is one, too, in Raheny.

I said they were rare, not that they were non-existent. I should like to raise a question in relation to a thatched cottage on Blackhorse Avenue beside the Pheonix Park. This cottage was destroyed by fire some years ago. The roof has disappeared. Planning permission was given in respect of the site provided the cottage was retained and maintained but it is lying derelict. Will that kind of cottage qualify under the scheme the Taoiseach refers to?

Yes. The National Heritage Council will take within their remit any aspect of our heritage.

I was a bit taken aback to hear the Taoiseach tell Deputy McGinley that the £1 million is not specifically for the maintenance of thatched cottages, that it is to do with heritage matters generally. Would the Taoiseach ensure that a scheme is devised either by the National Heritage Council or by the Department of the Environment whereby a grant or subsidy can be made available to anyone wishing to retain a cottage that is thatched?

I do not think any official funds could be used legitimately for more than grant aiding in such cases but the National Heritage Council are looking at the question of grant aiding.

Will there be a specific scheme?

We must move on to the next question.

The Minister is acting like the fiddler on the thatched roof.