Heritage body to protect Irish 'big houses'

The Government is to establish a new Irish Heritage Trust to acquire and safeguard historic buildings and properties around the country.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern announced last night that the Government is also to introduce new tax breaks for owners of historic heritage properties to donate them to the trust.

Separate tax relief is to be provided to individuals and companies who make contributions to endowment funds to be established to finance conservation and preservation measures.

The Government is to provide up to €5.5 million in funding to the first endowment scheme established by the new trust.

Funding for the establishment and initial running costs of the new trust will be met by the Department of Environment, Heritage and local Government.

Speaking at the opening of the third Annual Historic Houses of Ireland conference in Maynooth last night, the Taoiseach said that for too long the historic Irish "big house" was not seen as part of a shared Irish heritage or viewed as worth preserving.

However, he said that times had changed and the Irish big house was increasingly valued for its architectural significance, for its wealth of design and the insight it offered into an era that influenced the shape of modern Ireland.

Mr Ahern said the financial burden of maintaining a big house and its grounds in this day and age was too often prohibitive. He said that, due to a variety of economic, social and political reasons, few of the Irish big houses remained in the hands of the original owners.

"If we want to gain a fully rounded understanding of the past, it is critical that we not let these repositories of our social, cultural and architectural history slip from our grasp," he said.

Mr Ahern said the State regularly came under pressure to buy important heritage properties. He said the reality was that the State already owned a large stock of heritage buildings and was not always in a position to purchase.

He said the new trust would be able to acquire major important heritage buildings "where there is imminent risk to their heritage value". The Taoiseach explained the trust would have a single objective and be fully dedicated to the conservation of major heritage buildings.

He signalled that owners who donated properties to the trust and individuals and companies who contributed to their upkeep would qualify for new tax reliefs being considered by the Minister for Finance for the 2006 budget.

"Each property donated to the new trust will have an endowment fund which must be sufficient to meet all the conservation, maintenance and presentation costs. The intention is that the trust should be able to raise a large part of these endowment funds through private and corporate donations, though the Government has agreed that the State should also contribute such funds," he said.

"The Government also recognises that the trust may require greater support in its early days while it establishes its expertise and reputation. The Government has decided to contribute 75 per cent of the first endowment fund, subject to a maximum of €5.5 million. I am confident that this will contribute to its early success."

The Irish Georgian Society welcomed the Heritage Trust and the accompanying tax breaks.