Sir, - Here at St Nicholas's we rely very much on our FAS Community Employment Scheme to keep the largest medieval church in Ireland open and staffed to welcome many thousands of visitors to Galway each year.
Custodians of many other historic buildings throughout the country who rely on FAS in this way may not be aware of the drastic reduction in community employment scheme numbers which is currently being planned in accordance with the recommendations of a report by Deloitte and Touche.
The existing numbers on the scheme (41,000) will be reduced to 28,000. If this is implemented it will have a catastrophic effect on the ability of historic churches and sites to remain open to visitors because the increasing levels of vandalism throughout the country mean that our historic buildings can no longer be left unattended and unsupervised.
The report says: "There will be a need to ensure that vulnerable groups such as older males are not disproportionately affected by the phasing out of projects which provide works for many such persons." But that is merely a pious hope - this is the group for whom FAS provides a social as much as an employment service and who inevitably will suffer most in a drastic reduction of this kind. - Yours, etc.,
The Very Rev Dr R. B. MacCarthy, Rector, St Nicholas's Collegiate Church, Galway.