Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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Dunguaire Castle is an iconic cultural and heritage landmark in Kinvara on the Wild Atlantic Way. However, it remains closed off to the public and stuck in limbo. The castle was a real asset and a significant benefit to the community. Its continued closure is a real missed opportunity for the village of Kinvara and the region as a whole. The castle is on the edge of the village, within walking distance from it. Its closure is most definitely impacting on footfall in Kinvara. Throughout the summer months, and even today, we have busloads of tourists driving past the site and they can stop and take photos but that is it. They cannot enter. In the past there were tours, banquets, performances and so on. It really enhanced the tourism offering of the local area and provided a lot of employment.

The fact is that Galway County Council is willing to take ownership of this castle from the Shannon Group, and wants to do so, but requires significant funding to bring the castle up to a safe standard. The council has gone to the Government with a request for the necessary funding but so far it has been turned down. There have been rubbish excuses from Government about there being no specific funding stream available from any of the Departments. The reality is that when Clare and Limerick county councils were acquiring sites from the Shannon Group, they received significant support from Government. In the case of Clare County Council, it received €6 million. Why then are the people of Kinvara and County Galway being treated as second-class citizens in this regard? Why is one of our most cherished heritage assets being left to crumble? Providing the funding to Galway County Council is not an expense; it would be an investment in Kinvara - in local jobs and businesses, tourism and preservation of a heritage site. Can the Minister of State give a commitment today that the necessary funding to reopen Dunguaire Castle will be provided to Galway County Council?

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his question and the discussion we are going to have on a much-loved and treasured architectural building in his own county of Galway.

In 2020, the Shannon Airport Group informed Government that it was necessary to consider a comprehensive readjustment to its structure in order to ensure the long-term future of the Shannon Heritage business. A number of challenges had presented themselves, including a lack of capital investment and the essential expertise required to maintain the heritage sites. As a consequence of these challenges, the Shannon Airport Group engaged extensively with the relevant local authorities on the transfer of its heritage sites. For instance, King John’s Castle was successfully transferred to Limerick City and County Council in April 2022 and the Shannon Heritage business and four sites in County Clare transferred to Clare County Council in May 2023.

Dunguaire Castle is now the only remaining site under the ownership of the Shannon Airport Group, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, understands that Galway Country Council has had engagement with the group in relation to a possible transfer of the castle. A funding request was received by the National Monuments Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage from Galway County Council in November 2024 in relation to the castle, wherein the local authority sought funding to acquire the castle. The National Monuments Service wrote to the CEO of Galway County Council in December 2024, advising that a voted funding stream to facilitate the purchase of heritage sites by local authorities is not available. The National Monuments Service offered to meet with relevant officials from the local authority to explore options that might be available to secure funding to acquire the castle. However, this offer has not yet been availed of.

As Members may be aware, the Department funds a range of relevant grant schemes intended to support local authorities and other owners in respect of the repair and conservation of archaeological and built heritage sites. Where the structures concerned are protected or within a designated architectural conservation area, the built heritage investment scheme and the historic structures fund can provide support for repair and conservation works. The built heritage investment scheme provides grants of between €2,500 and €50,000, while the historic structures fund offers funding of between €50,000 and €200,000 for works on larger scale projects. Where the structure in question is an archaeological monument, the community monuments fund can provide grants of up to €100,000 for conservation works, where eligible. In 2025, the community monuments fund awarded 122 projects a total of €7.5 million in funding.

The community monuments fund supports a range of initiatives to conserve, maintain, protect and promote local monuments and historic sites. Such investment benefits communities and the public by future-proofing and safeguarding monuments through the funding of conservation works and repairs, building resilience by protecting monuments from the effects of extreme weather and climate change, in addition to supporting public access to monuments and improvements in the presentation of local monuments. These grants help owners and custodians of archaeological monuments and built heritage assets alike to safeguard them into the future. Over the past number of years, these conservation schemes have allocated in excess of €50 million for works to archaeological monuments, historic buildings and public realm schemes. This is a testament to the dedication and hard work of all involved, including local authorities, community groups, private owners, the professional heritage sector and officials in the Department to ensure the ongoing protection, conservation and maintenance of our heritage sites for the continued enjoyment of generations to come.

In addition to the conservation schemes described above, local authorities seeking funding should, depending on the exact circumstances of the structures and buildings in question, engage with the urban regeneration and development fund, the rural regeneration and development fund, the LEADER and Thrive programmes, and Údarás na Gaeltachta funding schemes.

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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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.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As noted by the Government in its decision of January 2021, the Shannon Airport Group operated Shannon Heritage on a commercial basis, in line with its commercial mandate, meaning that sites were only likely to open on a seasonal basis and where a commercial business case existed. Dunguaire Castle was operated by Clare County Council on a goodwill basis for the summer 2023 season. The group has advised that, given its commercial mandate, it was not feasible to reopen the castle in subsequent seasons.

As discussed today, a wider range of supports is available to assist and support local authorities and private owners to discharge their responsibilities in respect of archaeology and building heritage sites. Investment in our heritage sites delivers broad public benefits by enhancing the character and amenity within our towns, villages and landscapes, bringing back into use buildings and other assets which currently lie vacant and closed.

On a more human level, I appreciate what the Deputy is saying. I appreciate that he feels the community of Kinvara feels alienated over this particular issue. I will convey the Deputy's thoughts and views to the Minister, Deputy James Browne.