Vol. 405 No. 3
75 Mr. Moynihan asked the Minister for Finance if he will outline (1) the number of houses unoccupied currently in the National Park, Killarney, (2) the number of such houses which are habitable and (3) the number of such houses which require repair before being made habitable; and if he will make a statement on the proposals of the Office of Public Works in relation to the future use of these houses.
There are a total of ten houses unoccupied in the park at present, two of which are uninhabitable. All of the remainder, with one exception, are in very poor condition and would require extensive renovation before they would meet modern standards.
The one house which is in reasonably good condition is undergoing repairs at present and will be occupied by a retired member of the national park workforce on completion of these works.
The policy of the Office of Public Works in relation to vacant residences within Killarney National Park is set out in the management plan for the park launched last year. Residences which become vacant are offered to park employees in the first instance. However, some of the uninhabited houses are unlikely to be required for residential use because of their lack of modern facilities, remote location and, in some cases their relatively small size. In certain cases alternative uses such as information offices may be found for some of these. Any remaining residences which are of no architectural or historic value will nonetheless be conserved as safe ruins.
