Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)

The issue is not just the purchase of the castle but also bringing it up to a safe standard. As outlined, Galway County Council estimates that could cost millions of euro. The grant schemes the Minister of State has outlined, such as one offering €100,000, will not be sufficient for Galway County Council to acquire the castle and bring it back into use.

The Minister of State mentioned some of the Clare assets of the Shannon Group that were purchased by Clare County Council. Government funding of €6 million was provided at the time to facilitate the purchase of those assets. If the Government is prepared to do this for Clare County Council, why not Galway County Council? The Government needs to step up to the plate and ensure Dunguaire Castle is brought back into use. We are receiving excuses as to why this cannot happen, but something similar has happened before. That is the reality. The funding provided at the time was an acknowledgement of the importance of heritage sites like the one in question and the need to support the Wild Atlantic Way and villages like Kinvara.

Our local authority in Galway is cash-strapped. It is one of the worst-funded local authorities in the State as a result of consistent Government underfunding over many years. Our council is not in a position to take this on without Government support. It is very frustrating for us in Galway that we seem to be constantly neglected by the Government, particularly in this instance. Funding was provided to another local authority but not that in County Galway.

The castle is an iconic cultural and heritage landmark and a very popular tourist attraction along the Wild Atlantic Way. It must not be left closed for any longer. Will the Government recognise the importance of the site to the local community in terms of heritage, employment and tourism and provide the necessary funding to Galway County Council?

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