Vol. 414 No. 1
71 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for Finance the intended date of take-over of Ross Castle, Killarney, County Kerry; the amount of money which has been spent on the refurbishment to date; when it is intended to open the castle to the public; the reason it has taken so many years for this work to be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
72 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for Finance the estimated loss of earnings to the State over the years by the failure of the Office of Public Works to have repair work carried out to Ross Castle, Killarney, County Kerry so that it could be opened to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 71 and 72 together. Given that Ross Castle has, of necessity, been closed to the public for essential works, it cannot be construed that there has been a loss of earnings to the State. Ross Castle was taken into the Guardianship of the Commissioners of Public Works in November 1973. The commissioners became owners of the castle in 1979 when the McShain estate was transferred to the National Park in Killarney. At that stage a considerable amount of work had been carried out to the monument to ensure its safety.
The Ross Castle site has served as the National Monuments Maintenance Depot of the Office of Public Works for the entire Kerry-Limerick region. Due to the restricted level of resources available and the need to maintain a large number of monuments in the region as a whole, much of the earlier works could only be carried out on a limited scale, as overall commitments in the region permitted. It was not until the beginning of 1989 and the allocation of EC structural funding, that sufficient resources could be devoted to tackle the project comprehensively. The structural stabilisation of Ross Castle has proved to be a demanding and complex restoration project. This 16th century castle was greatly altered in the intervening centuries. These alterations, together with a general decline over the centuries, led to a weakening of the structure. Particularly serious problems arose in the mid-1980s when it was found that the substantial cross-walls were structurally unsound. This necessitated considerable additional work, and the main part of the castle had to be buttressed with steel supports to prevent collapse.
I am pleased to say that these major structural problems have now been resolved and that substantial progress has been made with restoration works. It is hoped that the reconstruction work and fitting-out will be completed to enable Ross Castle to be opened to visitors in 1993. The total estimated cost of works to completion is £1,800,000 of which almost £1,100,000 has been expended to date.
