I welcome the introduction of the Bill. As a previous Member of the Seanad I also welcome the fact that the Bill was introduced in that House. I have always believed there should be a greater division of legislation and that we should use both Houses in a more balanced way than we have done in the past. Perhaps now there will be cause to do so with the greater balance of Members between the Government and Opposition in that House. The Seanad is an appropriate House to tease out a Bill on which a considerable degree of thought, reflection and knowledge is required. I am well aware, also, of the number of educationalists and historians who are Members of the Upper House.
Putting the conservation, protection, identification and enhancement of our heritage on a statutory basis is long overdue. A Bill was introduced in draft form in 1982 but, unfortunately, it was never passed. The Heritage Council was set up in 1988 and now the Minister is proposing to put it on a statutory basis. That is what is required for the protection of our heritage.
Too many buildings, monuments, archaeological objects and, indeed, entire landscapes, including flora and fauna, have been damaged through neglect and lack of legal protection in the past. Our heritage is the totality of our historical inheritance. It is what has given us our uniqueness as a country and a people. Vandalism of our heritage should be subjected to the most severe penalties.
We must not simply conserve and preserve; we must develop, educate and promote an awareness and pride in our past. There are some aspects of our heritage I would not wish us to preserve or promote. In this context I am glad the Minister is proposing to establish standing committees, one to deal specifically with wildlife and wildlife habitats. In recent times we have got a very bad press because of the manner in which we deal with some of our harmless wild animals and birds. Both North and South we have acquired a rather unsavoury reputation for bloodsports of a particularly cruel and undesirable kind. Fox-hunting, badger baiting, hare coursing, the blooding of greyhounds with live rabbits and cock fighting are particularly gruesome activities and something we should deal with on a national basis. Regularly there are questions and allegations of abuse. Only recently in the BBC "Spotlight" programme in Northern Ireland it was related that fighting cocks and spurs were sold illegally at the traditional monthly horse fair at Smithfield in my constituency. Some of these activities are illegal and all of them are indefensible and I would like to see the council, through its new standing committee on wildlife, dealing with those as a matter of urgency.
Section 6 provides that the functions of the council shall be to propose policies and priorities for the identification, protection, preservation and enhancement of the national heritage, including monuments, archaeological objects, heritage objects, works of architecture, flora, fauna, wildlife habitats, landscapes, seascapes, wrecks, geology, heritage gardens and parks and inland waterways. That is a comprehensive list which indicates the plethora of areas that can be brought under the broad definition of heritage. We do not have a clear definition. I found it difficult to get anything like a precise definition but, according to the New Shorter Oxford Dictionary, heritage means that which might be inherited in terms of property or succession, that which would form part of a national or cultural heritage and that which was concerned with the conservation and use of the national or cultural heritage. It is easier to describe than to define. Heritage covers a wide range of subjects, from artefacts, topography, history, music, stories, archaeology to our history which details wave after wave of people who came to this island, leaving indelible marks in historical and archaeological terms. These include the pre-Celts, the Celts, the Vikings, the Anglo-Normans, the French and the Spanish, all of whom made a strong impact. In the Minister's constituency the effects of the Spanish Armada are strong. Off County Sligo the Armada left a huge number of wrecks and I am glad to see that an Armada museum is being established in that county. We heard the other day that the Minister is making an order to prevent interference with treasures uncovered on the tragic ship, the Lusitania, and ensure that any further action takes place under strict licence.
This very morning in my constituency of Dublin Central I received a call from somebody in Sean McDermott Street who told me that a team from the corporation had arrived to demolish a row of houses on one side of the street. I contacted the dangerous buildings section of the corporation by telephone to ask what was happening. I was asked to contact the maintenance depot which explained that it had received a call from the dangerous buildings section of Dublin Corporation about some buildings that the corporation considered to be unsafe and had been asked to erect a palisade fence around them. The maintenance section did not have a crew to do that but had a crew to demolish the buildings and, rather than erecting a palisade fence, they sent out a crew to demolish the row of houses some of which are derelict and some of which are not in bad condition. No discussion took place as to the merits of retaining the streetscape by preserving those mid19th century buildings which are roughly 150 years old. I eventually got a reply from the dangerous buildings section before the Dáil resumed this morning to the effect that it is has been agreed to postpone the demolition and erect a palisade fence, although that would take longer to do. The lazy ad hoc approach is unacceptable.
I consulted the Bill to see if there was anything to protect against this and section 10 provides that the council may consult with a local authority on the maintenance, preservation, restoration, upkeep and improvement of any heritage building owned by the authority. I would like some clarification on that. The section provides that the building would have to be a listed heritage building. A problem may arise, therefore, where, although none of a row of buildings is listed, they may be essential to the preservation of that streetscape. Could the interpretation of section 10 be expanded to require the local authority to have consultations and give the Heritage Council a role in dealing with matters of this nature? I am anxious to see that encompassed in that section. Perhaps we could tease that out on Committee Stage.
In my city and in towns and cities throughout the country there is a considerable degree of urban renewal driven by tax incentives. That is desirable and has resulted in the development of offices, apartments, etc. However, much of this development can be willy-nilly, with apartment blocks erected without an overall plan for the landscape. For example, there has been a variety of architectural styles used in new developments along the line of the Liffey quays yet there is a specific recognised architectural line on those quays. Similarly this is happening in other inner city developments, a site is acquired and the development which takes place does not necessarily fit in with the surrounding streetscape. The city or town architect should have responsibility for drawing up an overall plan in advance of urban renewal schemes in designated areas so that we do not have piecemeal development which neglects the overall picture. The urban renewal scheme has been very successful in eliminating derelict sites but I would not like to see it result in a mishmash with no regard for the overall picture.
We should take a pro-active approach to our archaeological heritage. The city archaeologist in Dublin has the resources to act only in the context of a development taking place and it is only when the builder is about to come on site that the archaeologist examines the terrain for archaeological remains. The development has been granted planning permission when the archaeologist examines the site and very often it is not appropriate to do anything apart from covering the remains. That is always a pressurised approach and I think there should be far more pre-planning. We should look at the areas of our city that are likely to have rich archaeological remains; we know where the Viking, Anglo-Norman and Huguenot settlements were in the city and certain areas should be surveyed and excavated long before any development is planned. We should take a pro-active approach to get the work done years ahead of the proposed development.
Another aspect of heritage is live heritage, for example, Moore Street, where street traders from time immemorial have sold fruit, vegetables and fish. That should be seen as an integral part of our heritage and promoted as desirable for tourism. The Smithfield horse fair has been an annual custom for centuries in the Smithfield market. As I have said one or two ugly practices have developed and there has been some criticism of the cruel treatment of horses but again this is an unusual part of the city, one might describe it as a rural custom located in a city environment. Obviously it is of immense interest to young people to be able to see horses in an urban setting. I would like to see this regulated and properly licensed but not driven out of the area as it brings a novel character to the heart of the city.
A great deal of specific work could be done with our built heritage. Saint Michan's Church in Dublin is celebrating its 1,000th year of existence this year, but it is in poor condition with water seeping through the roof. It would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to do a proper job. This church has a fine tradition and its vaults house the preserved bodies of the crusaders. It deserves to be taken care of. The house of Sean O'Casey on the North Circular Road has had very little attention, I believe it is still let out in flats and totally unprotected or preserved. Saint Mary's Church in Mary Street — the name of which the good burghers of the city are endeavouring to change to Henry Street to give it a commercial focus to rival Grafton Street although I do not think the city councillors will agree to that — goes back to the 11th century and the Cistercians and it probably may well be the oldest church originally in the city. They would benefit from the focus of the new Heritage Council.
The new measures for the built heritage in private ownership are welcome. We would also need to survey and catalogue our built heritage nationally. Some work has been done through aerial photography but this task needs to be done county by county, town by town so that we have an overall catalogue. It is very important to have an overall picture as we would then be able to plan and develop policies, which is the specific brief of the National Heritage Council. We would have the information to respond to the broad canvass as distinct from our ad hoc responses in the past.
The statutory proposals for the independence of the National Museum and the National Library are welcome. It is proposed that the National Museum would have Collins Barracks as an exhibition area and it could put on display the rich artefacts now scattered in basements in its own offices in Kildare Street and elsewhere throughout the country. This will also present the opportunity to exhibit the many other treasures that have not been on public view because of a lack of space. The decision to open the premises as a museum is a wise one. It is easily accessible being located near Heuston Station and close to the city centre.
In the past we neglected the importance of local community involvement in heritage although many community groups have done excellent work. Perhaps the work best known is that done in the area of genealogy. However, there is a broader area of heritage work in terms of what is available on a historical, archaeological and industrial basis in a local community. This area lacks resources and a proper structure for development. Recently an Inchicore/ Kilmainham group carried out work in their area covering the Camac river, the Liffey area, the Inchicore works, the railway, various Viking artefacts and the buildings. It did a survey and drew up proposals to enhance some of the buildings, develop a centre and so on. The problem is how to progress the work beyond that point.
The council's function is to propose policies and priorities but how do we develop a network where such groups can be brought into the system and use all that rich local lore in the development of a national heritage policy?
I would like to see the areas of heritage better defined and described than they are at present and a greater degree of information and education provided — obviously there is a role for the schools to play in this area — so that we develop our uniqueness as a people. We have promoted tourism and, as a result, generated employment based on our heritage.
I welcome the powers in section 10 and would like to see them extended, if required, to protect the streetscape of the city some of which may not have a listed building or national monument.