Farmers who preserve archaeological sites on their land should be paid compensation, according to one of the authors of a report on the destruction of Ireland's archaeological heritage which was presented in Dublin yesterday.
The Heritage Council report cited land improvement, driven by intensive farming and development, as a major cause of the destruction of monuments such as ring forts. The report said these were disappearing at an alarming rate.
Dr Larry Kennedy of Teagasc, one of the report's authors, suggested some sort of "balance and reward" system to encourage farmers to preserve monuments with archaeological significance on their lands.
"Farmers could be limited in their ability to make a living because of the existence of these monuments on their lands. Therefore, the situation should be turned around to give them some incentive to retain the structures.
"This could be achieved through education, by giving them a better understanding of the story behind the monuments and their significance, as well as through compensation," he said.
Mr Michael Starrett, chief executive of the Heritage Council, said that farmers were not exclusively to blame for the destruction of our heritage.
"Farmers get the blame because the way land is used is causing the problem, but there are all sorts of things driving that, like lack of information and economic pressures. It is other people who are forcing them into that situation," he said.
He suggested that the people responsible for the conservation of monuments should not be "bureaucrats in offices", but local committees who would be better placed to guard the sites more closely.