Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, to the refurbished House and I thank him for loosening the purse strings to do a wonderful job on the historic Leinster House. The Office of Public Works is to be congratulated on a marvellous piece of work.

Alas, that is not why we are here today. We are here at the request of Councillor Paddy McQuillan in regard to St. Laurence's Gate in Drogheda. To give some background to the issue, two and half years ago a committee was formed with the purpose of closing the historic and iconic St. Laurence's Gate to public transport and, instead, opening the gate as a tourist attraction for the town. It is already listed on the Discover Ireland website as being widely regarded as one of the finest of its kind in Europe. However, with increased traffic through the town, the gate was being damaged, particularly by trucks that were being sent through it by satellite navigation systems. Indeed, I have some photographs of trucks stuck under the gate and the resulting wear and tear on its structure.

There was great excitement when the newly-established committee got together in Louth County Council and a traffic management plan was designed and implemented, and the gate was closed to traffic. Unbelievably, it is now two years on and the gate is still lying idle, and a very busy tourist season has come and gone without the gates being opened to the public as a visitor attraction. The road markings have not even been removed.The Minister of State's predecessor and our Independent colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, visited the gate and pledged to make it fulfil its potential as an open visitor attraction. It was briefly open to the public during the two recent fleadhanna cheoil. Those events were sold out each day.

It would appear that since the council owns the surrounding land and the Office of Public Works, OPW, owns the protected structure, the delay lies somewhere between the two bodies, but it has proven difficult for councillors and those involved in the campaign to have the gate reopened to get a definitive answer.

The gate was built in 1280 and has survived to the present day, but it needs careful work if its structure is to be protected. This is particularly true regarding the south tower, which I understand is structurally damaged and needs repair. Bringing the tower up to the standards required to make it a safe and sustainable visitor attraction will require investment by the OPW, but time is of the essence. Given the work done in Leinster House, there is no organisation better qualified to bring a building back to its original standards than the OPW.

County Louth has an impressive tourism offering and an enviable built and natural heritage set in a unique location at the very heart of Ireland's Ancient East. The council and its economic forum have a strong and achievable tourism plan with Drogheda as a gateway town at the centre, but, sadly, without its historic gate. What plans has the Minister of State for the tower's renovations? When can the people of Drogheda expect the gate to be fully restored and open to the public for tourism business?