Vol. 429 No. 3
90 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Finance if the interpretative centres are to be closed; if so, if he will give details of what will happen to the sites; the amount of taxpayers' money spent to date on the projects; if extra money will have to be spent reinstating them; if so, the amount this will cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I presume the Deputy's question relates to the three visitor centre projects at Mullaghmore, Luggala and the Boyne Valley. The present position is that as a result of the conflicting High Court judgments in the Mullaghmore and Luggala actions the Government approved an appeal against the High Court judgment in the case of the Mullaghmore centre to the Supreme Court in order to clarify the application of the planning Acts to developments by State Authorities, including the Commissioners of Public Works. The Government also approved the suspension of work on these three visitor centre projects pending the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing.
The hearing took place on 14 March and the court reserved judgment. The court has asked for further argument to be made at a combined hearing on 20 April. It is hoped that the court will deliver its judgment soon afterwards. A decision on the future of these projects will be taken when the Supreme Court's judgment is available.
