Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Kon'nichiwa, a Chathaoirligh, and a happy one-year anniversary to both of us. He has been fair, fun and approachable and I can ask for no more.

I want to raise the matter of Farmleigh estate. Farmleigh estate has 78 acres at the edge of Phoenix Park. The house accommodates dignitaries when they come to visit, but the grounds are open to the public. Last year, I was able to convince the Office of Public Works, OPW, to extend the opening hours from the gates opening at 10 a.m. with last entrance at 5 p.m. and the gates closing at 6 p.m. I was able to get it to extend those hours because of Covid-19. We are working from home and stuck at home and our outdoor spaces have never been more important. However, our outdoor spaces are still and will remain important.

I ask the OPW to facilitate keeping the gates of Farmleigh open as part of the outdoor summer again this year and maybe even going forward. Since May, I have been working on this. I have faced some resistance from the officials in the OPW. I have now raised it with the Minister of State with responsibility for Office of Public Works and the Department of the Taoiseach, as they are both stakeholders. I hope there can be some movement on that. I know there are issues of rotas and of security, but those things can be overcome.

There is welcome news for people who have been planning their weddings for July. They will be able to go ahead with 50 people. I ask that there is clarity as soon as possible for couples who are due to be married in August. They are going through the same angst. I recognise this is a worrying morning for the hospitality sector, which is bearing the brunt of restrictions. However, let this be a reminder that we still do not have specific sectoral guidelines for weddings. They are tucked in under the reopening of hotels and bed and breakfasts. Anyone who has gotten married will tell you that there is much more to a wedding than a hotel and bed and breakfast, if at all, because so many people get married in other venues. At the moment, couples and planners are sifting through different guidelines, whether for churches or for other ceremonies and on whether one can having singing or music. In hospitality, do the same rules apply around tables of six?Hotels versus marquees is a big question. Do the same restrictions apply? What are guidelines and what are rules? From talking to people, there is variance in their interpretation of the rules. Given the precarious position we are in and that weddings today are getting the green light for July and that this is one day in people's lives, this needs clarity. The last thing anybody wants is that a wedding turns into a super-spreader event and that could have a knock-on effect for all the other couples and suppliers dependent on these events.