Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I should not have to make representations to the Minister of State and to the OPW about the Hill of Tara. My colleagues on Meath County Council have been pleading with the OPW to do something with the Hill of Tara and this has been going on for a long number of years. It is all right putting on this show that Boxer will get the job done, but we want this primary seat of architectural and cultural heritage to be minded by the OPW. The Minister of State has been in office for less than one year but this issue has been going on for a long time. It is about time somebody got a handle on it. The residents' patience is wearing thin because there have been so many promises.

In the last days of the Fianna Fáil-led Government we had the landscape heritage plan, which came from the Green Party and which caused uproar among the residents. Things then seemed to stall for years, and people are now demanding action. Basic facilities must be provided by the OPW, such as toilet facilities and car parking. Those facilities are actually provided by local people, and the OPW seems to be getting away with that at the moment. I am pleading that this matter be treated seriously and that the Minister of State meets the residents. He should work with them, and I will work with him. He should do that in conjunction with the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. We do not need a plan to decide that we need basic facilities for tourists, visitors and local people coming to the Hill of Tara.

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