Mr. Michael Parsons:

There is a great role for us to play. For a start, the Heritage Council works with 55 museums through a museum standards programme. We assess, give certificates and withdraw them if we are not happy and so on to try to attain standards. We have a great role in that regard and one which we are required to play. In County Laois we have gone down the same trail several times and there are difficulties. We follow with great interest what is happening with the courthouse in Portlaoise. We want to locate a museum in the building. The National Museum of Ireland assures us that if it is safe to hand artefacts to local museums, it would be delighted to do so. The difficulty is that bodies such as county councils are required to be involved. Of course, there will be many volunteers, but a few paid people are needed as buildings and security must be maintained. However, it is something the Heritage Council would absolutely embrace. Therefore, we would love to receive a proposal from the committee in that regard because it would spur us on.

As I said, we are setting out our strategic plan for the next few years. We look for ways in which we can promote the heritage of the country and having a museum is a great way. We were told not to stick to County Laois alone but to promote counties Laois and Offaly, not only for their monastic wonders but also for the little thing called the first plantation of Ireland. There is a festival in Portlaoise to celebrate the first planters' fort in the English-speaking world.