asked the Minister for Finance what precautions are being taken in the Garden of Rememberance, Parnell Square, Dublin, to protect children at play from serious fall from the edge of the central memorial.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Garden of Rememberance.
13.
Mr. O'Leary
I take it that the central memorial mentioned by the Deputy is the sunken garden. It is not intended that the public should have access to the grassed areas on the upper level and protective railings will be erected near the steps at each end of the sunken garden to cut off access to those areas.
I need hardly point out that the Garden of Remembrance was designed as a memorial to all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom and is not intended to be used as a playground for children.
Mr. O'Leary
Since other memorials that were intended as monuments to the dead are, in fact, playgrounds for children and as this is in my constituency and as there is a considerable drop in the central cruciform part of the garden, I do not want to be attending to any casualties other than those of 1916 when this garden opens.
It is impossible to guarantee complete safety but, as I have said, access to the grassed areas at each end of the cruciform plot will be fenced off by railings.