Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
198. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Transport the conditions attached to the €2.6 million fund awarded to Shannon Heritage in August 2020; the sites on which this fund will be spent; and the follow-up inspections that will take place to scrutinise the way in which the funding is spent. [23519/20]
View answerI would like to thank the Deputy for his questions in relation to Shannon Heritage and can confirm that having considered the difficulties facing Shannon Heritage and the importance of Bunratty Castle and Folkpark and King John's Castle to the local economy and the region, I have committed to provide funding to Shannon Group to ensure that these two landmark tourist attractions which were due to close at the end of August, can remain open to the end of 2020. The provision of this funding ensures continued employment for 52 employees at these sites who would otherwise have been laid off by Shannon Heritage at the end of August.
Conditions attaching to the funding, including the amount of funding that is necessary to keep these two sites open until the end of December, are currently being discussed between my Department and Shannon Group. Any funding provided to Shannon Heritage to keep the two Castles open will be subject to the appropriate governance arrangements in accordance with Government Financial Procedures and the relevant procedures and control systems operated by my Department. The position in relation to the opening of these and other Shannon Heritage sites in 2021 will be considered as part of a wider review currently underway in my Department on the future of Shannon Group, including Shannon Heritage. Given the importance of Shannon Group to the economy of the Midwest region and indeed nationally, it is my intention to bring recommendations to Government in this regard shortly.
