Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To make a point related to the Chairman's remarks, I thank the OPW for many of the properties and work it does in communities. The Chairman mentioned one in his own constituency. In my constituency, I have the Phoenix Park, including Farmleigh House, the Botanic Gardens and many other sites dotted across the city. The OPW staff at those sites do a tremendous job. I want to recognise that they are very open to the properties being used in different ways. We see art exhibitions, outdoor sculpture in the Botanic Gardens, and different types of community events at Farmleigh, which is a very different use from the one originally conceived for the building. The superintendent of the Phoenix Park and his staff are always extremely accommodating to any community event. Like the Chairman, I want to recognise that. There is a genuine openness among the people the OPW has running its properties and sites to try things out and do things differently. We should not let the meeting conclude without commending that and asking the witnesses to pass the message on.