I am honoured to have been asked to officially open this third annual conference on the Historic Houses of Ireland at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. I would like to extend my thanks to Professor John Hughes for inviting me here this evening and to the coordinator of the Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates, Dr Terence Dooley, for organising this event.
It is particularly encouraging to see a centre, which was launched formally just one year ago, play such an active role in stimulating discussion on the importance of Irish historic houses. For too long the historic house was not seen by many as part of a shared Irish heritage – nor indeed was it viewed as a heritage worth preserving.
Fortunately, times and opinions have changed radically since then. The Irish Big House is increasingly valued today for its architectural significance; for the wealth of design created for the most part by Irish craftspeople; and for the valuable insight it offers us into an era that has had such an influence on shaping our history.
Conferences such as this are valuable in heightening public awareness of the importance of preserving Irish Big Houses and addressing the many issues faced by private owners, NGOs and the State in doing so. Most importantly, events such as this bring together people, from a wide variety of backgrounds, who have long since recognised the importance of identifying and conserving these valuable properties.
I would therefore like to pay tribute to all those involved in the Centre for the Study of Irish Houses and Estates for organising this important event. As with so much of our heritage today, increased appreciation of historic properties will be secured through ongoing public discussion, research and academic publication. And I know that through the support of both the OPW and private benefactors, the Centre will continue to play an important role in heightening public awareness and appreciation of our built heritage.
In Dr Dooley’s study of “The Decline of the Big House in Ireland” he refers to Elizabeth Bowen’s record of life at her family home – Bowen’s Court. According to Elizabeth, “each of these family homes, with its stables and farm and gardens, deep in trees at the end of long avenues, is an island – and, like an island, a world.”
To me the description of the Big House as an island – in essence, a world of its own – captures the enduring fascination of these properties. For the Big House was indeed a self-contained world – a centre that performed a variety of functions. From family home to fine art repository and social gathering space to employment hub – each Big House represented a microcosm of the life of the landed class during their heyday.
When studying the past, people sometimes tend to focus entirely on the politics and significant events of an era. To really appreciate times gone by however, we need to gain an insight into how people lived, into what they thought and what they valued and into the supports that were available to them within the wider community. And that is exactly the kind of insight the Big House affords us today – and all under the one great roof!
Due to a variety of economic, social and political reasons however, few of the Irish Big Houses remain in the hands of their original owners today. The financial burden of maintaining a Big House and its grounds in this day and age is too often simply prohibitive. And yet, 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.
As you will be aware, the stated policy of this Government is “to ensure the protection of our heritage and to promote its enjoyment by all”. Today, the maintenance of our heritage properties is supported through tax incentives and grants from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Heritage Council. A total of €10.6m is being provided this year, for example, for grant schemes and other State supports for the protection of architectural heritage properties, which are largely in private ownership. In addition, well over 200 properties are currently availing of Section 482 tax relief.
The State itself of course, owns many important heritage properties and the Office of Public Works sets a very high standard in maintaining these. This year, the Exchequer is providing capital funding of some
€13m and current funding in the order of €32m for heritage sites and properties in the care of the OPW.
That said, the State regularly comes under pressure to buy important heritage properties when these come onto the market. The reality is that the State is not always in a position to buy in these circumstances.
Given this, there has been much discussion in recent times about the possibility of establishing a National Trust organisation to safeguard the future of our remaining historic houses.
The establishment of such a Trust formed the central recommendation of Dr Dooley’s study of a “Future for Irish Historic Houses”, which I launched just two years ago. I know that it is also an issue that has been actively supported and promoted by many of you present here this evening.
Given this, I am delighted to be able to announce this evening that the Government has recently approved the establishment of an independent Irish Heritage Trust. The Trust will be able to acquire important heritage buildings where there is imminent risk to their heritage value. This marks a major addition to the existing State measures in support of our built heritage.
It is clear that an independent Trust with a single objective, fully dedicated to the conservation of major heritage buildings, will be an important support for the conservation of our historic houses. It is also clear from the experience in other countries that an independent Trust can play a key role in conservation of the built heritage. The successful examples share several common characteristics. These include commitment to strong conservation values, along with a clear and focussed strategy, which recognises that commercial realities can be married with conservation. It also demonstrates that support of members and volunteers can sit alongside professional fundraising.
The new Trust will be well placed to access and utilise the range of expertise and in-depth experience in architectural heritage conservation, fundraising, project management and trusteeship that is already to be found in this country. I am confident that it will have a strong conservation and heritage focus allied with commercial understanding. It is intended that the Trustees, like many of the delegates at this conference, will have an interest and expertise in the areas of architectural heritage and conservation management.
The Irish Heritage Trust will also have a strong mandate to maximise non-Exchequer resources in support of its activities, and to encourage membership and volunteers. The funding needed to meet its establishment and initial running costs will be provided by Government from the vote of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
This new Trust is being established on the basis of the recommendations in the Indecon Report, which was commissioned by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and completed in November 2004. The Indecon Report built on the findings of the 2003 study by Dr. Dooley and both reports recommend that a National Trust should be established to safeguard the future of our remaining historic houses accompanied by appropriate tax reliefs. In this context, the Indecon Report on the Issue of Trust-type Organisations to Manage Heritage Properties is now published on the website of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
The Indecon Report also recommended that properties should be accompanied by an endowment fund sufficient to maintain the property in perpetuity. This endowment would have to be raised by the Trust through a State contribution and private donations, which would benefit from tax incentives. In addition, Indecon recommended that tax relief be made available for donations of heritage properties to be cared for by the Trust.
Given these recommendations, 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 to such funds. The Government also recognises that the Trust may require greater support in its early days while it establishes its expertise and reputation. While Indecon recommended a state contribution of 25%, the Government has decided to contribute 75% of the first endowment fund subject to a maximum of €5.5m. I am confident that this will contribute to its early success.
While the Trust will operate on the basis of existing “Charities” legislation, the Minister for Finance is currently considering, in the context of Budget 2006, additional tax incentives, both in relation to donations of heritage properties to the Trust and donations to endowment funds required for each property.
Details of the structure and governance of the Trust will be announced later this year by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
Given the level of discussion and interest that there has been in the establishment of a structure of this kind in recent times, I am delighted to be in a position to make this important announcement today. It is particularly appropriate, in fact, that it comes towards the end of another very successful Heritage Week – where people across the country have had a chance to enjoy our built, natural and cultural heritage.
I am confident that the establishment of the Trust will go a long way towards meeting the protection and conservation needs of Irish historic houses going forward. Most importantly, this venture provides us – the Government, state bodies, NGOs, private owners and benefactors and other interested groups – with a unique opportunity to work in partnership with one another in preserving our built heritage for future generations.
Once again, I thank you for inviting me here this evening and I wish you every success with what promises to be a very interesting and informative conference.
Thank you.
ENDS