Mr. Eoin Darby:

Just to add to the Deputy's point on the tourism factor, tourism is a massive income generator for the country. We should also mention the skilled guys doing the thatching. These guys spend ten years doing an apprenticeship to become a master thatcher. They are in very short supply and are dwindling in numbers. If we are going to start losing these properties, going from having only 2,000 now, to 1,900 next year, then 1,800 and so on, that skill and trade is just going to disappear. Will every house in the country just have a slate roof then? As I said, the quintessential Irish postcard depicts a thatched cottage. That will be gone.