Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator Paul Coghlan regarding the engagement taking place between the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Harris, concerning the traditional houses in our country that have so much history attached to them and the rightful upkeep of them. I would like to see a strengthening of protocols and procedures to ensure that valuable assets in the possession of the State that are entrusted to boards of directors and various organisations on behalf of the people are protected and that what happened is not repeated in any guise without prior ministerial approval. Things happen and we must learn from them. I sincerely hope that this situation will not be repeated because it was unfortunate. I certainly welcome the development relating to donors.

I also welcome the review of town councils and believe it needs to look at municipal districts. Some municipal districts are just not workable. I am sure that the situation in my area is similar to that in Senator Paul Coghlan's area. There is one municipal district that covers almost 50% of the geography of County Clare. It goes from Ballyvaughan right down as far as Kilrush and almost into Ennis. It is not realistic for eight councillors to try to holistically and properly serve that type of geographical area. Any resources they are given will not help them.