The proposal to establish a National Trust is fine as far as it goes, but more needs to be done to preserve our architectural heritage, writes Frank McDonald, Environment Editor
Desmond FitzGerald, Knight of Glin, ruefully recalled at the weekend how former Taoiseach Mr Albert Reynolds had made "enthusiastic noises" when he opened a seminar 10 years ago on the future of the State's surviving great houses.
The knight, who is president of the Irish Georgian Society, was obviously pleased that the current Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, went somewhat further in pledging to introduce legislation setting up a National Trust to take charge of these properties.
Far too many are already gone, having been "burned during the revolutionary period 1920-1923", as Dr Terence Dooley puts it in his report on the great houses, or abandoned by owners who could no longer afford to keep them.
Others have survived to have their surroundings radically altered by the development of golf courses in their wooded demesnes. Carton in Co Kildare is one such example - although, curiously, it is omitted from Dr Dooley's report.
Although the number of visitors to the State's historic houses may seem impressive, Dr Dooley rightly points out that they are "negligible" compared to Woburn Abbey in England, for example, which attracts 30,000 visitors on a good weekend.
Only a very small proportion of historic houses - defined in his study as "the country and town houses of the Irish landed class" - survive in the ownership of their original families and with their priceless contents intact.
There has been a welcome change in public attitudes to the great houses and what they represent. Far from wishing to see them pulled down, most people would like to have them preserved as monuments to Irish craftsmanship.
The State is obliged, under the 1985 Granada Convention, to preserve its architectural heritage as part of the common heritage of Europe - and not just the great houses but other historic buildings, from churches to thatched cottages.
Yet despite widespread and desperate need, the Government slashed funding for the protected structure conservation grant scheme from €5.7 million in 2001 to €3 million in 2002 and to €2.88 million in the current year.
As a result, Dublin City Council has been unable to award any grants in 2003, despite a number of historic buildings in the capital in need of restoration. St George's Church, in Temple Street, is one glaring example.
Even the building where Dr Dooley's report was launched on Saturday - No 20 Dominick Street, one of the finest Georgian townhouses in Dublin - is finding it hard to raise the €20,000 needed to finish its restoration.
Other local authorities are not faring any better. Indeed, some of them have even refused to designate historic buildings as protected structures, in response to lobbying from owners who fear this would severely curtail their development potential.
As for the surviving great houses, their future is precarious without a National Trust to look after them, as Dr Dooley's report makes clear. Many of the owners do not have a sufficient income to avail of tax breaks for restoration work.
The Republic is out of line with most European countries in not having a National Trust, established on a statutory basis, to hold historic buildings in trust for the nation - and An Taisce has too many battles to fight to assume such a role.