Vol. 486 No. 5
83 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the progress, if any, made in developing the lands of Lucan Demense; and if she will make funds available for the development and maintenance of these lands. [2931/98]
As the Deputy may be aware, the State purchase of the Lucan Demesne, with the exception of the Liffey Lodge and the Black Avenue Lodge, was completed in August 1996. The former is being retained by the vendors and the latter is to be purchased when legal title issues have been resolved by the vendors.
The objective is to establish a Liffey Valley Park which will be co-operatively managed and maintained by the three local authorities concerned — Fingal, Kildare and South County Dublin — on the basis of an agreed management plan.
Since acquiring the property a substantial fence has been erected segregating the Liffey Lodge from the demesne and the necessary legal contracts and agreements transferring responsibility for the management and maintenance of the demesne to the three local authorities concerned were drafted and forwarded in late May 1997 to the local authorities for completion. To date only one of the local authorities has signed the contracts and agreements. I am most anxious that the contracts and agreements should also be completed by the other two local authorities without delay so that this amenity can be made available to the public as soon as possible. Funding for the management and maintenance of the Lucan Demesne will be a matter for the local authorities.
