Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 March 2022
105. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update on the position of the Céide Fields visitor centre incorporating a new exhibition and interpretation centre; when funding will be provided for the centre; when the new centre will be operational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11400/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Céide Fields Visitor Centre highlights the internationally significant, unique Neolithic farmed landscape preserved beneath the blanket bogs of North Mayo. Over the last eighteen months the OPW has been working on an important project to renew the visitor experience at the centre which has undergone an entire transformation.
The all-new exhibitions, which are jointly funded by the OPW, Fáilte Ireland and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, under a Joint Strategic Tourism Capital Investment Programme, uses state of the art technology to give an insight into the lives of our Céide Fields ancestors and the ever-changing landscape of this part of the Mayo coast. The OPW has also significantly enhanced the ancillary visitor facilities by improving universal access to the site and bringing the building up to current building regulations.
A highlight of the refurbished centre will be an immersive audio-visual experience. The exhibition will take visitors through the changes from both natural and human forces over thousands of years, from the pre-farming hunter-gatherers to the settlement by the Céide Fields farmers and into the later Bronze Age. Many different techniques have been incorporated into the centre to significantly enhance the visitor's experience including artist reconstructions, video and replica artefacts.
The progress of refurbishment works at the centre was negatively impacted by the pandemic but I am pleased to confirm that works are almost complete and it is planned that the centre will re-open to the public in mid-April 2022.
