Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In 2011, my Department announced a major refurbishment programme for Killarney House and its ornamental grounds and gardens and it was a pleasure to visit Killarney House some weeks ago. This is a major project for my Department and involves collaboration with the Office of Public Works as project managers and Fáilte Ireland which has committed funding of €5.2 million under its tourism capital investment programme.

When I visited Killarney House on 29 September, following the Europark 2014 annual conference, which was held in Killarney and was a great success, I saw for myself the work that is currently underway. Work is underway on the final phase of restoration, refurbishment and new works for Killarney House. The refurbished house, in its historic and very beautiful setting, will function as a national park visitor centre and will provide an added attraction for visitors to the town.

The visitor centre project includes a newly built extension to house an interpretative centre for the national park, explaining its significance and importance to the town and region, including information on its major themes such as mountain, wood, water and the human impact on the environment. Also, as part of the new build element, the provision of exhibition space will be included to cater for temporary exhibitions, displays and cultural events. The original ornamental grounds and gardens immediately surrounding the house will also be restored, creating spectacular landscaped areas that will merge into the natural areas of the park and providing vistas linking the town to the scenery of mountain, wood and water.

Having walked the grounds with Senator Coghlan, I must say the restoration of the garden is very impressive. A phased approach to the restoration has been adopted and the first two phases were required to safeguard the structural integrity and to create the optimal layout of the house in preparation for the full restoration works. Phase one was completed in February 2012 and consisted of essential repair works, mainly to the external fabric of the building, including repairs to the roof, chimney stacks, flues, gutters, down-pipes, windows and drains. The external render was also removed to enable essential repairs to the stonework. Phase two was completed in February 2013 and consisted of the further repair and stabilisation of the main building and repointing of internal courtyard walls. The final phase of works to the house, which began in early January, is expected to be complete by early December 2014. The new-build extension and hard landscaping works - paths, paving, stonework, etc. - are progressing apace, with the soft landscaping works due to commence shortly. In addition, planning for the interpretation for both the house and its ornamental grounds and gardens is advancing with expressions of interest recently sought by way of competitive tender for the position of interpretative exhibition designer to the project.

As regards staffing arrangements for Killarney House, the Senator will be aware that my Department is currently subject to the moratorium on public service recruitment. However, the staffing requirements for the house, as with all other areas of my Department, will remain the subject of ongoing consideration in light of the overall business needs and within the pay framework approved for 2015. The restoration project will be substantially complete by end 2014 with a view to the site being fully operational and open to the public in 2015. I look forward to attending the opening.