Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Taoiseach whether any advance has been made in respect of the proposal made by myself and a number of other Deputies regarding the Luggala estate in County Wicklow. The Taoiseach may have heard a very nice programme on RTE on Sunday Morning. On "Sunday with Miriam" Garech de Brún and Paddy Moloney of the Chieftains were talking about the enormous role Luggala has played in the cultural history of Ireland over recent decades, from films being shot there to music being recorded there. The Guinness Trust has put the estate up for sale. It is interested in selling to the State. I understand the initial indicative price was quite high, but I think that is negotiable. A purchase would also allow Garech de Brún, in the context of all his contributions to Irish music and culture, to occasionally reside in the house but in particular would allow the State to acquire the 5,000 acres. The Taoiseach has just spoken about the expansion of Dublin. This is an amenity for the people of Leinster, but also for visitors to Ireland who are on the eastern side of the country. Thankfully we have many.

Has the Cabinet committee on regional and rural affairs had an opportunity to discuss Luggala? An initiative on the part of the Taoiseach to bring Luggala into public ownership would be a very historic achievement for him. It would make the Wicklow Mountains one of the biggest regional public parks and wild parks in Europe. It would be an enormous boon to the country's capacity to attract cyclists and walkers, which Luggala already does. If it was bought by private interests, a very significant part of Wicklow would potentially be closed off and become entirely private.

See this speech in context