Deputy Shatter has been given permission to put a question on Private Notice to the Minister for Finance. Will the Deputy read the question?
Private Notice Questions. - Rathfarnham (Dublin) Castle.
asked the Minister for Finance if he will take immediate steps to ensure that Rathfarnham Castle is fully secured and properly protected and that the temporary preservation order made in respect of the castle is fully complied with having regard to a threat made yesterday by a person acting on behalf of the owners of the castle to remove all security from the castle.
Rathfarnham Castle is protected by the temporary preservation order made by the Commissioners of Public Works on 24 December 1985 under subsection 1 of section 4 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1954. The effect of the order is that it is unlawful for any person to demolish or to remove any part of the monument or to interfere with it in any way without written consent of the commissioners. The commissioners' staff carry out regular and frequent inspections of the castle. Since the castle is private property, the commissioners are not free to instal resident security staff, but their own employees and the Garda Síochána are co-operating to ensure that the provisions of the temporary preservation order are fully complied with.
Could the Minister of State take urgent action within her Department to make sure that the threats which have been made are not carried out, in particular the threat which has been made to remove some of the internal parts of the castle which are subject to the temporary preservation order such as ancient fireplaces and other aspects of the castle which are of importance? Finally, could the Minister of State indicate whether her Department will make a permanent preservation order in respect of the castle having regard to the fact that the temporary preservation order will cease to be effective from the middle of June this year?
If there is any danger to Rathfarnham Castle which is one of Dublin's outstanding buildings for many reasons, the commissioners will either renew the temporary preservation order or consider a permanent preservation order. No final decision has been made but we will discharge our duties under the National Monuments (Amendment) Act in relation to Rathfarnham Castle. In relation to the first part of the supplementary, we are co-operating with the Garda Síochána in relation to any possible danger and we are increasing our already very frequent inspections of the castle to ensure, if at all possible, that no damage occurs.