Dr. Martina Moloney:

The planning system is very disparate and there are many different dimensions to it. I am conscious that a proposed review of planning in general is likely to commence. In general, the planning system provides a lot of protection to protected structures, in particular through the county development plan process and the identification of areas of conservation value.

The other area that possibly needs a bit of additional investment is education, to make sure that people understand the damage that they could potentially be doing. Sometimes, people with the best will in the world do something that they do not fully understand. It comes back to some of the points Ms Teehan made around the skill level and craftsmanship in this particular area. It is one of the initiatives that we hope to improve and to roll out to make sure that the people who engage in construction activity will have the right skills to develop it.

It would be worth our while perhaps to reflect on some of the challenging situations in which we found ourselves in recent years and to see where heritage was not as well protected, in particular in regard to buildings that are not on the record of protected structures. We can all think of a couple of examples of where there was a significant loss, which we wish had not happened. We must ask what needs to be done in those particular situations. Ms Teehan may wish to add something.