Vol. 534 No. 4
36 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the position in regard to heritage sites in view of the current foot and mouth precautions; when she envisages that all sites will be open and operational again; if any staff employed by Dúchas have been laid off; if staff that would normally be taken on at this time of year have been recruited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10691/01]
179 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands when she intends to reopen national monument sites throughout the country following the recent closures due to the foot and mouth crisis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10942/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 179 together.
Following the advice by the expert group on foot and mouth disease set up by my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Deputy Walsh, I have commenced a phased reopening of heritage sites with visitor facilities throughout the country.
Kilkenny Castle and the Rock of Cashel were the first sites to reopen to the public on Friday, 16 March. These sites, as well as 21 other fee paying sites which are open on an all year round basis, had been closed as a precautionary measure following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Armagh. Since then, on the basis of advice from the expert group, 22 other sites have reopened and a further six will reopen next Sunday.
As of Easter Sunday, 30 sites will be open of the 39 sites at which my Department provides a guide service and which would normally be open to the public. The Deputy will appreciate that the majority of the fee paying sites open on a seasonal basis only and would be due to open from Easter onwards.
In the case of sites where susceptible animals have had access since 1 February, I have today received the agreement of the expert group to those sites being reopened, subject to fencing being provided to prevent further access by animals and to the expiry of a quarantine period of 28 days.
A further 21 fee paying sites are due to open to the public in May and June and it is my intention to open all of those sites to the public where the guidelines laid down by the expert group can be complied with. This situation is, of course, dependent on no further outbreaks occurring in this jurisdiction.
Last Thursday, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation informed the Joint Committee on Tourism, Sport and Recreation that the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands is engaged in a programme of temporary fencing to keep deer and other susceptible animals out of lands around visitor centres. Will the Minister advise the House on the up to date situation with regard to this matter? Has the fencing been ordered and will the sites we are discussing be open for Easter? I am thinking, in particular, of Muckross House in Killarney, Derrynane House, the monastic site at Glendalough and Newgrange. It is vital for the tourist industry that these locations should be reopened as soon as possible but the Minister's Department must ensure that these sites will be fenced off as a matter of urgency. I would ask the Minister to refer, in her reply, to the particular sites I have mentioned.
The Deputy will be aware of the Private Members' motion that was debated last week when we had an opportunity to highlight some of the issues, including the steps we are taking at heritage sites to support the tourism industry. The Deputy is perfectly correct in saying that we have been examining some of the more sensitive sites, such as Muckross House and its environs in the Deputy's own constituency. We are particularly concerned about susceptible animals there, such as deer, so we are erecting fencing as we have done at Glenveagh. We hope that the fencing at both locations will be completed by the end of this week. We received information today from the expert group which advises the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, and other Ministers, on the best procedures to adopt. The expert group has given the go ahead for reopening Muckross House and Glenveagh once the quarantine period of 28 days has expired. The fencing of those sites will have been completed by the end of the week.
It is still not clear to me whether Muckross House, Derrynane, Glendalough and Newgrange will be open for Easter.
They will not be open for Easter for the simple reason that fencing is ongoing at these particularly sensitive sites. According to the expert group, once that fencing has been completed there must be a quarantine period of 28 days. My Department has issued press releases on the decisions that have been taken with regard to opening such sites, some at the end of March, some on 8 April and others on 15 April. We will continue to examine this situation daily.
The visitor centre at Newgrange has been reopened to the public, although the actual site has not because it is a sensitive area. We are happy with that situation because it is possible to contain and control access to the visitor centre there. Normal precautions have been taken in an effort to ensure that a fair balance is stuck between avoiding further outbreaks while at the same time trying to live life as normally as possible, particularly for those involved in the tourism industry.
