Pat Moylan (Fianna Fail)

I ask the Leader to request the Minister for Agriculture and Food to take steps immediately to alleviate the serious financial problems facing farmers in the Shannon basin because of the serious flooding necessitating the movement of livestock. The area is certain to have serious fodder shortages.

I support the important point mentioned by Senator Feighan. As they are no longer local authority members, Senators may not be aware of the line taken by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. While we all want to preserve our heritage, in recent months the Department has notified local authorities that they should list a large number of buildings in many towns. I believe it leaves much to be desired. There is nothing to be preserved in some of the buildings known to me that have been named by the Department. If the same is true nationwide, the issue is serious. Through the county development plan, local authority members are quite capable of listing whatever buildings need to be preserved. Senator Feighan is correct in raising this important matter.