Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 June 2015
295. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update in relation to the completion of a project (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23324/15]
View answerI was delighted to visit Mooghaun Hillfort in May 2015 at the invitation of the Deputy and to see the excellent work carried out to date by OPW staff.
The newly rebuilt viewing platform at Mooghaun Hillfort near Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare, was substantially completed in August 2014.
As part of the project, it had been intended that the spiral stair handrail and the balustrade surrounding the platform at a high level would be completed in stainless steel, thus adding to the durability of the structure and minimising the maintenance that would be necessary thereafter.
Some difficulties were encountered with the design and fabrication of the steelwork which only became apparent when the Office of Public Works (OPW) attempted to procure the item from a specialist steel fabricator in mid-2014. In order to resolve the problem in the short term, the OPW installed a quality wooden handrail and baluster as an alternative so that the viewing platform could be opened to the public and sought to resolve the manufacturing difficulty separately. Currently, the OPW is actively trying to source an alternative procurement route for the steelwork, which is a specialist item. It is not possible to say definitively at this stage when the work will be fully completed.
Enhancing the panoramic views will be addressed separately after the additional forest clearance work to open up the desired vistas has been done; at this stage, this is provisionally scheduled for late 2015 and is dependent on appropriate consent from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht under the National Monuments Acts being secured.
