Mr. Tom Doherty:

The castle was initially transferred to the State for ley agricultural purposes. We built new facilities in the 2000s and the castle became surplus to requirements. As a result, we have the castle and the gardens and we must maintain them as part of the agreement of transfer to the State. We occupy other purpose-built laboratories and offices now on the estate, as do the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Environmental Protection Agency, and we do actively farm the balance of the land. We use it for research purposes.