Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Following up on what I said earlier about young people getting involved in farming, the same applies to some of our heritage skills. A generation of people, many of whom I know, have these skills and an incredible variety of abilities and knowledge concerning a range of methods of stone wall building. We risk losing those skills and abilities if we do not value and protect our heritage and pass on those skills to a new generation. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, is doing a great deal of work in the area of heritage. He is providing additional funding, but also looking at the entirety of our policies.

I agree with the Deputy. The special character of many of our areas and their characteristic landscape, including our walls, is critical and central. It brings real benefits and is something we have to keep and transfer on to a new generation of people to have those skills.

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