Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me the privilege of raising this matter again. At the risk of boring the House, the people of Kildare North and those outside the constituency, I seek to bring attention to this issue because it needs to be addressed.

The local people who have protested at the way the Office of Public Works, OPW, has handled Castletown House have been constantly blamed and accosted regarding their responsibility for bringing thisimpasse about. This was not done by the local people; it was done by the OPW, which decided, in September last, to widen the gates to facilitate extra traffic. It used angle grinders to do that but it did not have permission do so and there was no permission for the access route in question.

The constant refrain is that the OPW is doing this because the previous access route, which had been in operation for ten years via the M4 through the car park and Castletown House, was no longer available as the arrangement with the previous landowner was no longer in vogue. The situation then should have been that it would have no access, other than the route that was closed down. The proof is that it had to have that access for a period of more than ten years. While that temporary access was negotiated, it was in place because the OPW recognised it had no alternative access.

Unfortunately, it went down the wrong road and created an obstacle for itself. It has undermined its own case. It is still possible to negotiate with the new landlord of the adjoining property to share the access from the M4. The OPW and the State have put a lot of money and investment into Castletown House, and rightly so. Last night, I was at a well-attended meeting on this issue in Celbridge. The people in attendance had nothing but the best in mind for Castletown House. They see it as the contribution to heritage in their area and local people have enjoyed this amenity until now.

I am glad to see the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, who is from Kildare, in the House to reply to this Topical Issue, which is about Kildare. It is a sensitive issue but I will bring it up for as long as it takes. As the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will know, the people whom she, I and the Minister of State represent expect us to do this for them. This is particularly the case given the situation in which we find ourselves now. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and ask him to address the issng those lines.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I offer this response on behalf of the Minister, who is unable to attend this morning. I thank Deputy Durkan for his ongoing interest in Castletown House. As a fellow Kildare man, I know of the huge emotion and upset there is around developments in the area around Castletown House and estate. In recent months, Deputy Durkan has made continuous representations through parliamentary questions, Topical Issues and Oireachtas committees with regard to Castletown House and estate. He, along with other elected representatives of Kildare North, are members of the Castletown House and estate stakeholders working group, which was established in October 2023 to try to progress the reuniting of the historic demesne and access issues at Castletown House and estate. The group includes representatives of the community and all the local political representatives in the area.

It is important to restate the current situation. In September 2022, the OPW sought to purchase the lands adjacent to Castletown House and estate in a private sale. These lands have been in private ownership since the estate was sold by the Connolly family. As has been made clear, the OPW made a bid for these lands in excess of the market price, but was outbid by a private individual. In September 2023, the private owner of these lands withdrew permission for OPW staff, its servants or its agents to enter his private lands.

While I understand that the private landowner has continued to allow members of the local community to use his lands as a car park, he does not extend this permission to the Office of Public Works. The issues around vehicular access to Castletown House and estate would be resolved with immediate effect if the private landowner granted permission to the OPW to cross his land. When the State took ownership of Castletown House and estate, the only vehicular access was the Celbridge Gate and Lime Avenue. This was the case from 1994 to 2006. In 2006, the previous landowner granted a licence to the OPW to operate a car park and access road through the private lands on an annual basis. However, the current landowner was not open to agreeing to a licence agreement on a similar basis or a basis where a significantly higher licence fee was paid.

At the request of different stakeholders, the OPW has examined other access points to Castletown farmyard. These were through the public road in the Woodview estate; through a privately owned and maintained road at the Batty Langley gate and on to the historical pedestrian pathway of the Dublin drive, which is not designed for the weight of vehicles; and through the Celbridge Gate on Lime Avenue. It is clearly understood that the use of all these routes is unacceptable to different parts of the community. However, if no routes are acceptable, the outcome is that the OPW staff cannot return to conserve and protect Castletown House and estate. Lime Avenue has always been the vehicular access point to Castletown House and estate since the house was built. The roadway is designed for vehicular traffic.

To be clear, and for the avoidance of all doubt, it has been stated many times on the record of the House that the OPW is not seeking to bring significant volumes of traffic through the Celbridge Gate on Lime Avenue. The OPW envisages Lime Avenue operating as a pedestrian priority road, in line with current practice across numerous OPW sites, such as in St. Stephen's Green and Farmleigh. The OPW has made written commitments that the volume of traffic would be approximately 20 vehicles per day for OPW staff and essential contractors. People with a disability would be facilitated with access as required.

At this time, Castletown House and estate will not be offering car parking for visitors to Castletown House. The practical implementation of this new reality and ensuring this does not have negative impacts on the local community within Celbridge is a key area of discussion of the working group.

The small number of vehicles would not impact on the current congestion within Celbridge. In fact, the work by the working group and the OPW may help to reduce congestion in the longer term by changing travel patterns.

Since 2006, the State has spent approximately €25 million investing in Castletown House and estate. Castletown House and estate is the most visited site in Kildare, which is critical to the local tourist economy.

I have more detail which I will provide in my supplementary response.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I realise the Minister of State had a difficult job to deliver because several people have previously delivered or failed to deliver on that, as the case may be. I cannot but comment on the fact that the emphasis is put on how little impact the extra traffic will have when, in fact, the OPW knows it has plans to extend and expand - and rightly so - the use of Castletown House as a national and international centre and protect what is known as the Castletown collection. All of that is strongly supported by the local people. None of it would be affected by simply trying to arrange a shared route with the adjoining landowner. I do not think the adjoining landowner, coming on stream as he did, has the right to stop the State from going to and from its own property, a preserved and protected mansion, in Celbridge. I do not accept that the OPW's intentions are as it says. Its intentions at the time were to widen the gates and cut the railings using an angle grinder in order that it could show that it had an alternative access route. There is no space in the traffic patterns in Celbridge for any extra traffic, not even for ten extra cars, until measures are taken to alleviate the traffic. Worst of all, no effort is being made to engage. That has to happen and, ultimately, it will happen.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and addressing this issue. I think it has been raised here 16 or 17 times by me alone, and other colleagues in Kildare North have raised as well. The issue has to be addressed. When will it be addressed? There is a recognition by the OPW that there is another way, which is the way we have set out again and again. We will continue to pursue these options until out objective is in sight.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Durkan for raising these pertinent points which are hugely important to the constituents he represents in Kildare North.

He and I agree that growing the numbers of visitors to Castletown House and estate is in everyone’s interest. It is a fantastic facility. We want more people to enjoy it and learn about it. The move to active travel for visitors will result in more people taking public transport. That will bring them into the heart of Celbridge village and provide an opportunity for local businesses to attract more trade. In addition, as part of the wider Government policy to encourage active travel, it will result in more people walking and cycling to Castletown House, which leads to more opportunities to attract people to local businesses where car parking is not a constraint. It is agreed there is a challenge to operate a tourism site focused on public transport and active travel but this is one that the OPW and working group can work on to overcome together.

The statement provided includes details on concerns around management, a biodiversity audit of the estate carried out in 2022 and the need for OPW staff and officials to be able to access the site to carry out important maintenance work. Bird nesting season is about to begin and there are dogs off the leash, which is something there have been numerous complaints about.

The core issue is that the current protest does not extend to Kildare County Council or Irish Water, which are allowed unimpeded access. The action is firmly to prevent the staff of OPW from accessing their workplace by vehicle. OPW staff have not had vehicular access to their workplace since September of last year.

A number of suggestions have been made. Deputy Durkan and others have suggested that the ultimate solution is for the State to acquire the lands. The Deputy has requested that the OPW explore multiple routes to restore access to these privately owned lands. The OPW remains committed to acquiring additional lands that form part of the original estate, where they become available, to reunite the historic domain. However, that cannot be at any price because we have to protect the best interest of taxpayers’ money as well.

As a Kildare man, I hope we see a resolution to this important problem. I again thank Deputy Durkan for continuing to highlight this important issue for Kildare.