Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is more than welcome. It is great to have him the Chamber again. I compliment his work in the Seanad. It is always great to see him here taking these Commencement Matter debates.

The issue I raise relates to Desmond Castle in Kinsale. It is a unique structure which has been closed due to structural issues since 2018. The castle's history is unique. It goes back to the 1500s and is a classic urban tower, three storeys high. It was once a prison which held prisoners from Spain, Portugal, Holland and all the way across to America. It was also used as a French prison. Across the centuries, it has also been put to other uses. It was originally a custom house. Since it was closed in 2018, we have been trying to find a pathway to get the Office of Public Works, OPW, to carry out the required conservation works so we can reopen this important part of Kinsale's heritage.

Kinsale is a unique tourist location.We have a lot to offer. Kinsale is the gourmet capital of Ireland without a shadow of a doubt. We have been blessed in many ways by the hand of history and by the hand of geography. We have an OPW site called Charles Fort with more than 100,000 visitors every year. The key issue is to build capacity in the sector in order that Kinsale can have an offering that can cover all eventualities. As this site is an indoor site, it works well with the other sites we have. When one looks at what we also have to offer, it includes the Battle of Kinsale from 1601, which is an important part of our history. We need to see a timeline as to when the conservation works will begin. There have been continuous reports and talk about reports on the site itself. I realise and appreciate that the pandemic slowed down works, particularly during the two years of the pandemic. However this site has effectively been closed for five years. We need to find a pathway to getting boots on the ground, get the conservation report done, and off the back of that get something to happen on the site.

That is my second ask. We need to make sure that when we re-open the site, we have a real and meaningful consultation with the local community. There is a view within the local community that this site should be a Battle of Kinsale exhibition centre, which would look and feel very well for the people of Kinsale. We must have movement. It does not work unless we get a pathway where the Minister of State ensures that the OPW finishes the report it is proposing to do and gets boots on the ground. If he can, will the Minister of State inform the House of how, when and where this will happen so there can be some major movement on the ground?