Ms Virginia Teehan:

I do not have the figures in front of me but, relatively speaking, the funding for built heritage and restoration, in particular, has traditionally been very low. It would be towards the end of the European scale. It is improving. Our funding has been improving. There are now good schemes in the built heritage section of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage that support buildings in public ownership, in particular. We have work to do to support the private owners of buildings and heritage. That is a matter that the chairperson and I have discussed. It is difficult for the private owners of heritage or historic buildings, including old buildings that are not protected, to manage them well in Ireland.