Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
339. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to provide an update on the issue of public access from the N4 to Castletown House; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47321/23]
View answerCastletown House is an eighteenth-century neo-Palladian country house built within an extensive estate.In 1994, the Office of Public Works took responsibility for Castletown House and estate. Initially, this was only 13 acres of land with the house. It has long been the policy of the OPW to seek to reunite the historic Castletown estate. In 1997, one hundred acres south of the house was acquired. The farmyard adjacent to the house was acquired in 2001. In 2006, lands associated with the Batty Lodge were acquired with former Coillte lands to the north and east of the House acquired in 2007. Since 2008, the OPW has reassembled 227 acres of the original 580 acres of land which formed the historic demesne.
As part of the policy to seek to reunite the historic Castletown demesne lands with the house and lands in the care of the State, the OPW has sought on several occasions to purchase the lands from Janus Securities including when the lands were offered for sale on the open market in 2022. However, despite the very best efforts of the OPW, the State was out-bid in the open market process and ultimately, the lands were acquired by a private purchaser.
The OPW remains committed to acquiring the additional lands that formed part of the original estate, where they become available, in order to reunite the historic demesne. The OPW has been in commercial negotiations with the landowners for the past seven months. These discussions have included the purchase of a portion of the lands, the entire portfolio or alternatively, securing a renewal of the previous licence agreement.
While the acquisition of these lands is important, it cannot be at any price. Any purchase must be delivered in compliance with the Public Spending Code and represent value to the taxpayer.
The OPW does not have any permission to access Castletown House and Estate across the lands now owned by the new landowner. It is important to note that Celbridge Gate was, and continues to be the State's official entrance to Castletown House & Estate. Additionally, the Lime Avenue was the sole vehicular road serving the estate from 1994- 2007. During this time a significant conservation project was undertaken with a variety of contractors and services accessing the site through this entrance. It subsequently became the main entrance for all visitors to Castletown. Although it has been largely pedestrianised since then, it has been subject to daily traffic by OPW and local authority works vehicles. The OPW envisages the Lime Avenue operating as a pedestrian priority road in line with current practice across numerous OPW sites such as St. Stephen’s Green and Farmleigh. It is necessary for the safe operation of the estate however that OPW staff, contractors and service vehicles have unimpeded access to the demesne in their own vehicles and the Celbridge gate is the only gate in State ownership which allows this access.
