asked the Minister for Finance if he will state: (a) the total sum expended on improvements and furnishing, distinguishing between the two, at Árus an Uachtaráin, in the year 1946-47; (b) the total sum it is proposed to expend in (i) furnishing, and (ii) improvements, during the current financial year; and further, the nature and extent of the work on which the estimated expenditure of £60,000 will arise.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers - Furnishing of Árus an Uachtaráin.
The total sum expended on improvements and furnishing at Arus an Uachtaráin in the year 1946-47 was £7,463, of which £5,883 was in respect of improvements and £1,580 in respect of furnishings. In the current financial year a sum of £500 is provided under sub-head D for ordinary furniture, repairs and renewals. The sum of £30,000 provided under sub-head B for improvements includes a provisional sum for certain furnishings, the cost of which cannot at this stage be accurately estimated.
The works covered by the estimate of £60,000 comprise the replanning of the west bedroom wing to afford proper guest-room accommodation, the provision of a modern kitchen and service facilities and of suitable quarters for the domestic staff, the remodelling of the unsatisfactory bedroom accommodation in the main building, and the provision in the east wing of offices for the secretariat and of cloakrooms, kitchen and service accommodation for public functions.
In the course of these improvements a complete system of central heating is being installed and the electrical installation is being modernised. A number of redundant old buildings is being demolished.
May I ask if it is proposed, when those improvements are carried out, to make use of the place for the purpose for which it was intended?