Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)

I cannot emphasise enough that this castle is an iconic cultural and heritage landmark and it cannot be left closed any longer. The Government has to recognise the importance of this site to the local community in terms of heritage, tourism and employment. When the Minister of State talks about grant schemes in the region of €50,000, €100,000 or €200,000, those are going to come nowhere near meeting the cost of what is required.

The Minister of State's response is not based in reality. She said there was no voted funding stream available from the Department. That is absolute rubbish. The Government can get these things done if it wants to. That is the reality and people know it. The Minister of State's response is very disappointing.

Representatives of Galway County Council will meet the Department in the coming weeks. They have a specific request for €5 million. They have put together a strong business case. The ball is in the Government's court. It needs to step up to the plate. This is a huge blow to Kinvara. It is very damaging to our tourism reputation locally.

The question that people in Kinvara and across County Galway have is why funding can be made available to other local authorities to allow them to take control of the Shannon group's heritage assets but not to Galway County Council. It is absolutely outrageous. Our local authority is totally underfunded as it is. This is a further insult to the people of County Galway.

People in Kinvara feel neglected in the context of the castle. They have been waiting for years for road safety improvements, including very basic things such as pedestrian crossings. There is very little housing and the local school needs improved facilities. The boardwalk has been held up for a very long time. Our Government needs to start delivering for Kinvara. I ask the Government and the Minister of State to stop the excuses and deflection and to give Galway County Council the capital funding it requires to bring Dunguaire Castle back into use.

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