Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for a very positive initial response. He is clearly aware of the significance of this estate to people in Ireland. It also ties in with one of the Government's key issues, which is the development and protection of rural areas. There could be no more remote and rural area than this wonderful and beautiful estate in the Wicklow Mountains.

The Minister of State rightly referenced the Guinness family's donation of Iveagh House and Gardens in the earlier history of the State and that building now houses the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Guinness family sold - albeit at quite a high price in Celtic tiger times - Farmleigh, which has been a magnificent addition to Dublin and also St. Anne's Park. I draw the Minister of State's attention to a place where I walk every year once or twice - the woods at Cong, beside Ashford Castle.

We have many examples of what can be done here. This is part of all our heritage and I thank the Minister of State for his reply.

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