Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I wish Mr. Newman the very best in his new role. From his CV, he appears to be eminently qualified. Given the value the county councils' heritage officers bring to their role of raising awareness of heritage, in particular the various surveys they have conducted, I am anxious about the question of funding. I know they did outsanding work in the past and I would like to see them retained, so I hope every effort is made to do that.

Heritage Week is a fantastic opportunity for the wider public to think about their heritage. With regard to the schools, we have perhaps lost a little of the value that should be placed on our heritage and perhaps our young people do not value enough what we have. What are Mr. Newman's thoughts on how we move forward with this, rather than just teaching history, given there is so much more to it?

The national landscape strategy should have been published by now. What are the reasons for the delay? There should be a sense of urgency when we look at the evolving requirements for renewable and wind energy, the memorandum of understanding between Ireland and Britain and the plans in that regard. I would like to hear Mr. Newman's thoughts on that.