Dr. Martina Moloney:

The Deputy's passion for heritage is very obvious from the inputs he has had. His pragmatic background in construction enables him to understand the challenges in this area. There is no doubt but that there are costs associated with rebuilding some old properties in towns and villages. The Government's new policy, Town Centre First, will hopefully improve the economic argument in that space. The Heritage Council has been very active in the collaborative town centre health checks to see what needs to happen in towns to try to ensure they are returned to being vibrant places. There is no doubt that this can be a challenging area. As set out in an earlier interaction, from a climate action perspective it is better to rehabilitate and refurbish existing buildings rather than build from the new.

The Deputy's comments with regard to graveyards were good. Under the heritage officers programme, we fund initiatives for the rehabilitation of graveyards where there is active community engagement with it. That goes back to the point Ms Teehan raised around the local leadership. We are very happy to work with people who will work with us. The Deputy's comments on youth and heritage were well made and interesting. We all need to ensure that our love of heritage is transmitted to the next generation.

On the specifics of providing the Deputy with a contact, he can rest assured that the Heritage Council will be in touch with him directly to see what areas of work we might potentially be able to collaborate on. It was my personal privilege, accompanied by Ms Teehan, to visit Kilmallock a couple of years ago for the Irish Walled Towns Network annual conference, where we saw the wonderful work that had been done there by Sarah McCutcheon and that group in developing and rehabilitating the walls. It goes to show what can be achieved over time where you have committed people in place. Ms Teehan might want to add to that.