Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Government has placed the passage tombs in Sligo on a list of properties that are considered suitable for nomination as UNESCO world heritage sites. Earlier this year, a folio of land at Cairns Hill in Sligo was put on the market. I raised the issue locally and was told that the OPW was going to bid for the site and asked not to go public on the matter. Had the latter not happened, I would have raised the issue in the Dáil. I trusted the OPW to buy this site and thereby ensure public access to the cairns. A local group would have tried to raise funds to purchase the site but it also stood back because it was asked not to raise the price of the site. Now it is too late. The site has been sold and we have been told that the vendor chose not to accept the OPW's bid. Why did the OPW not submit another bid? The selling price was reasonable. This is a very important site. Had the OPW bid succeeded, it would have guaranteed public access to the site and ensured an excellent addition to the portfolio of monuments in County Sligo. Those are the words of the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, not mine. This is a lost opportunity. What can we do about it now?

See this speech in context