A Future for Irish Historic Houses - Irish Heritage Trust

the Properties Under An Taisce Management’ (David Owen) outlined a number of
reasons why trust ownership is more beneficial than government ownership:
- National trusts are more likely to attract funding from international bodies
or through legacies and donations.
- A trust can manage and maintain historic properties more cheaply than if
they were in state ownership.
- Trusts are more inclusive and transparent because decisions are made by
consensus arrived at by total membership.
- There is a sustainable argument that the existence of a national trust
overcomes the conflict of interests inherent in government ownership of
heritage and its responsibility for economic development.
An Taisce has admitted that, as presently constituted, it is not feasible for it to become
the owner of significant amounts of land and property on the scale of the National
Trust in Britain. The number of historic houses it might be able to acquire and/or
manage would be limited. In the recent past, the Government Heritage Service
repeatedly stated that it has no intention of taking over any more heritage properties.
With regard to houses in the ownership of local authorities, the fact is that despite
their best intentions, there remains the issue of the maintenance of the historic
character of these houses and surrounding features in the face of pressure to
commercialise them in order to attract visitors and generate more funds.
All of the above suggests the strong need to examine in depth the case for the
introduction of enabling legislation to give statutory recognition and support to viable
national trust organisations in this country. The two key elements to the success of
this type of legislation are the acceptance of the principle of inalienability and the
granting of tax exemptions on donations. Inalienability is essential because it ensures
that if a trust ceases to exist properties cannot be sold off without an act of parliament.
Likewise, tax exemptions on donations (either in the case of the property or more
importantly on funds for the endowment of the property’s upkeep) are another
prerequisite for success, guaranteeing the long-term upkeep and restoration of the
properties in the trusts’ or foundations’ hands.
In April 2002, a draft Heritage Trust Bill was presented by An Taisce to the Joint
Oireachtas Committee on Heritage and the Irish Language. The committee favourably
received the proposal that national trust legislation should be introduced in Ireland.
However, no further progress with this proposal has been made, which is to be
lamented for if such legislation could be successfully established, it would
undoubtedly enhance the prospects of the preservation of the remaining historic
houses in Ireland.
While this report strongly recommends the introduction of national trust legislation, it
should be noted that twenty of the private owners said that although they would
welcome the introduction of a trust under national trust legislation, they would not be
in favour of handing their house over to it. Private owners remain somewhat sceptical
about the prospects of trusts working in Ireland. Possibly the main reason for this
comes once again from a lack of knowledge regarding the working of such an
organisation:
o Some owners believed that they would not have the necessary
finances available to them to gift their properties to a trust or to be
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