Vol. 518 No. 4
219 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the issues which are delaying the transfer of Lucan Demesne to Fingal, Kildare and South Dublin County Councils; when these difficulties will be resolved; the way in which the £3.75 million funding for the development of the demesne is to be split between the local authorities on a yearly basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11895/00]
The position as outlined in my reply to Question No. 638 of 26 January 2000 remains broadly unchanged. South Dublin County Council has already executed the legal transfer documents in respect of the portion of the demesne in South Dublin, the way is clear for Fingal County Council to complete the legal formalities as the issue of development funding has now been addressed and completion of the legal formalities transferring part of the demesne in Kildare to Kildare County Council is in train.
As the Deputy is no doubt aware significant expenditure is required to make Lucan Demesne fully accessible to the public and, accordingly, my Department sought and received approval from the Department of Finance for expenditure of £3.75 million on the development of the demesne over the next five years, commencing this year. This funding is not proportional to the areas of land within the respective boundaries of the three local authorities but, rather, will be allocated on the basis of an agreed programme of works.
The sanction from the Department of Finance is subject to a maximum payment each year of £750,000 up to the end of 2004 and the three local authorities involved formally acknowledging that these payments represent the maximum amounts to be made available through my Department for the development of Lucan Demesne. This funding is also conditional upon the agreement of the local authorities to open as much of the demesne as possible to the public as early as possible for obvious reasons. To date I understand that only Kildare County Council has confirmed their agreement to these terms.
My overriding concern is that the Lucan Demesne should be made available to the public as soon as possible and I would urge the two local authorities who have yet to confirm their acceptance of the conditions attached to the grant of development funding to do so, in order to facilitate commencement of the development works without delay.
