Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is a good scheme, which is taken very seriously by the councils, the officials in my Department and Fáilte Ireland. It is working well.

On the question of thatched cottages, there is a little thatched house in the village I come from but unfortunately, some time ago the thatch got burned and at present a thatcher is on site restoring it. This little house is in the centre of the village and is a landmark. I agree with the Deputy that people stop to take photographs of it every day. People associate the thatched cottage with Ireland, especially the west. A visiting tourist gets a surprise when he or she sees a thatched house. I see that every day with people stopping to take photographs of the thatched house in my village. At present we provide funding for structures at risk, if a local council proposes funding for a thatched house because of its age and heritage value, that would be considered by the Department. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government provide a package for thatching houses, as it is expensive to have a house thatched and the insurance is prohibitive. The thatched house in my village is in community ownership but this is the second fire in the cottage. The cost of insurance is becoming more relevant now than previously. The thatched houses are under review and if we had the possibility of funding, we would like to target it at them.

A figure of €110,000 is allocated in the Revised Estimate for the protection of the golden eagle, the red kite and the white-tailed eagle. These projects are going well. The scheme for the red kite in Counties Wicklow and Dublin has been quite successful. The introduction of the golden eagle and the white-tailed eagle in County Donegal has also been quite successful. I agree with the Deputy that these are important schemes and it is very important that we preserve the species that are under threat or in danger of extinction. The white-tailed and golden eagle and the red kite were endangered species. I agree with Deputes that some of the rangers in the National Parks and Wildlife Service have a very difficult job. They are advising people not to cut hedgerows because of nesting, not to burn commonages because of ground nesting birds and not to cut turf in protected bogs, which is forbidden by Irish and European law. Some rangers were threatened on social media and in other ways, which is very unfair on them and on their families. I hope that with the end of the turf cutting season this will stop. I was very concerned by this campaign because the rangers are doing a difficult job protecting nature, which will be beneficial for our country. They are public officials and should be treated with respect.

I referred earlier to the designation of heritage towns and I can now tell Deputy McLellan that as long as I am in this job I will be putting the emphasis on extending this scheme. The scheme has got off to a very good start and we now have the tools to designate other towns and extend the scheme.

I can confirm for Deputy Ó Fearghaíl that the contribution to Waterways Ireland is more than €25 million and that includes the major maintenance work. Maintenance absorbs most of the money because it is very difficult to maintain the system, which is approximately 1,000 kilometres. Much of the work must be done by people because one cannot get machinery to do that type of work. About 95% of the navigable waterways are available for navigation from April to October. We must constantly examine all of the waterways because obstructions can occur if materials are dumped in the waterways. Remedial work must be undertaken continuously on the 1,000 km of waterways. It is a very important resource and links all the island.

I will now hand over to the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley.