Ahern promises measures to save historic buildings

IRELAND'S cities and towns have been "scarred forever by the scorched-earth development pursued in the past", according to the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern.

In a statement yesterday heralding his party's intention to introduce legislation in the autumn to protect the interiors of historic buildings, he declared: "The wreckers' ball needs only to be swung once for something to be lost forever."

Action was urgently needed. The "once wholesale" destruction of Ireland's architectural heritage, due to "the bogeymen of ignorance and neglect", still continued at a "corrosive pace" as a result of "unrelenting commercial pressure".

Condemning the Government's refusal to accept a PD private member's Bill to strengthen the laws on conservation, Mr Ahern warned: "All the while nothing is done, buildings are callously allowed to fall into disrepair as a prelude to destruction."

Noting that it might already be too late to save the badly vandalised No 15 Ushers Island, scene of James Joyce's famous short story, The Dead, he said: "It is imperative that no more of our irreplaceable national heritage be destroyed because of political inertia."

There was now "a palpable anger and considerable shame among this generation at the historical neglect of our built heritage", Mr Ahern continued.

"As legislators, Fianna Fail recognises that, although public opinion has moved on, the law has not.

He also acknowledged the "invaluable role of many public-spirited individuals", acting alone or through organisations such as An Taisce and the Irish Georgian Society, who had fought "an often thankless fight to preserve our heritage".

Although he himself, as Minister for Finance, used to measure the pace of urban renewal by counting tower cranes on the skyline, he complained yesterday that the quality of new infill buildings had often varied from "the inadequate to the appalling".

Mr Ahern said Dublin's Georgian squares, with their "vast wealth of historical detail", were also vulnerable to "crass and poorly planned development" because their richly decorated interiors were not listed for preservation.

Noting that the State owns eight houses in Merrion Square and two in Fitzwilliam Square, he suggested that the Government should take a radical look at its property portfolio and make such houses available for conversion back to residential use.

"Fianna Fail's policy paper on how tax incentives can be used to spur a general change of use in Georgian Dublin provides a clear model for action from the Government", he said.

He added that the party would implement this package on its return to power.