Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Brennan for again raising this matter, about which he is extremely passionate and on which he has very sincere views. He has convinced me to be passionate about it as well in the context of wanting the project to be brought to a conclusion.

As the Senator is well aware, Carlingford is a very historic town with a number of fine structures, including two national monuments in State care - namely, the historic Mint building and Carlingford Castle, known popularly as King John's Castle and named after Richard the Lionheart's brother. Even though the castle is named for King John, it was actually built by Hugh de Lacy, a Norman Knight who founded the town of Carlingford. Construction on the castle started prior to 1186, but there were various additions to the building over the years and many eras of architecture and history are represented. It is, therefore, an important monument and a significant priority for the Office of Public Works.

The castle is, as I have said, a national monument which has been in State care since 1919 and has been managed and maintained by my office since that time. In the initial period it had limited access, and many of the interiors were not safe, so large parts of it were inaccessible. A programme of stabilisation work was carried out in the 1950s, which addressed the worst of the problems apparent, but nothing further of a really substantial nature, apart from holding maintenance, has been carried out since then. More recently, the OPW's national monuments service embarked on a programme of safety works. The first phase of this, which included the putting in place of a pedestrian walkway around the outside of the castle, was completed in the past few years. The intention is to carry on with further work to extend the accessible areas and allow visitors to more easily enter the castle site. A key aspect of the work will involve the careful dismantling of a crucial 19th-century wall and its reconstruction on a new firmer foundation but with the addition of an access door through which members of the public will be able to pass. This will dramatically improve the position for visitors wanting to get into the Castle in the future.

This next phase of the works is a major conservation project and will, as I have said, improve safety, access and presentation of this important historic monument to a significant degree. A large amount of preparation work, design and careful archaeological investigation and assessment has been carried out. In 2014 the Minister for Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht signed the necessary archaeological consent required under national monuments legislation to allow the work to proceed. All of the work that has been carried out to date at the castle, though substantial, has essentially been preparatory in nature and has really just set the scene for the major element that is yet to come.I know Senator Brennan is eager to see that happen.

As the Senator will appreciate, the National Monuments Service of my office is, like many organisations in recent times, under a significant amount of pressure currently, with demands on scare resources a particular problem at the moment. However, King John's Castle is a significant priority for my office, and for me personally, and my officials have informed me that works will recommence there in the summer of this year. The amount of effort involved in bringing this to completion should not be underestimated; this is a large conservation undertaking and works will therefore take some time to finish.

I can appreciate fully that the Carlingford Heritage Trust is anxious to exploit the potential that a more easily accessible castle will bring to the area and I am sure that this project, when completed, will bring much visitor and tourism benefit to the town. I look forward to accepting Senator Brennan's invitation to visit Carlingford Castle with him, hopefully some time in March.