David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Both the legislation and this amendment are unfair because they both have the effect of punishing the prudent. If somebody has paid off his or her mortgage with great difficulty over a number of years, he or she will still be paying for it, which is a pity. I have put down an amendment on this section but it deals with historic houses. Obviously we will not get to it, because this Bill is being guillotined. Would the Minister of State be able to stretch things and give me an answer? It has not been ruled out of order or grouped but simply states that residential property shall be regarded as a relevant residential property where the property is a building listed for protection as being of historic architectural or cultural interest in a special conservation area. That is in direct line with the Government's objectives, is limited by two factors and would help give the Government scope to protect the great historic houses that have been acknowledged in a debate in this House by a Government Minister within the past couple of weeks as being a very important element in the development of cultural tourism. I am thinking of houses such as Birr Castle, Westport House, Kilruddery House and Glin Castle. These will all end up derelict if we do not do something to protect them. This harks back to the days of punishing the alleged Anglo-Irish, although many of these people, such as the O'Conors of Clonalis House, are remnants of the ancient Irish nobility. We should think in a long-term fashion rather than destroy our cultural heritage through the operation of this Bill.