MARY BRYAN,
Sir, - Part IV of the Planning Act 2000, which relates to conservation, was welcomed as a major step forward, and appeared to confirm conservation-heritage as an essential part of national policy. However, the £4 million allocated to local authorities as a result of the Act to assist in the conservation of protected structures was ruthlessly cut last year to €3 million.
The original figure (minuscule in the overall national budget) was very welcome but inadequate. The unexpected reduction has had a widespread and damaging effect on the implementation of the Act at local authority level, and on the image of conservation.
This is an extremely serious matter for the conservationheritage sector, and those involved in this area are now further disturbed to find that heritage no longer exists as an entity in the title of a Government Department, as the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands is being disbanded.
The Department of Environment and Local Government may well prove a good home for heritage matters, but the disappearance of the word "heritage" will encourage a perception that heritage, in all its manifestations, is unimportant, and has dropped off the political agenda.
There is still time to rectify this critical omission. - Yours, etc.,
MARY BRYAN, Conservation Officer, Irish Georgian Society,Merrion Square,
Dublin 2.