Madam, - Dr Gerald Morgan (February 12th) is of course quite right to draw attention to the lack of maintenance by the Government of our historic churches, in contrast to most governments elsewhere in Europe. In November 2006 we received our first significant grant for fabric maintenance from the Government - one of €500,000. This sum represented just one year's expenditure on the fabric. The current work in progress on the 14th-century tower will cost us €900,000. Profit from the shop and donations from the 345,000 visitors we receive each year accounted for 83.6 per cent of our income in 2007. - Yours, etc,
ROBERT MacCARTHY, Dean of St Patrick's, Upper Kevin Street, Dublin 8.