David Norris (Independent)
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The matter I wish to raise involves heritage and tourism. It is the condition of and particularly the access problems relating to the Swiss Cottage at Cahir in County Tipperary. It is an historic place. It was originally built by the Butlers of Cahir who were my maternal family's sworn enemy. Therefore, it is remarkably altruistic of me to take up the cudgels in defence of their architectural remains.

It is a rather beautiful structure. The Minister of State is aware of the place, although like myself, it may be a number of years since he has been there. It is a classic 19th century folly and has all the feeling and the appeal of a Hansel and Gretel cottage buried in the woods. It is an extensive place and the Lord Butler of the period used to reside in it occasionally and also use it as a hunting and fishing lodge. There is still a great deal of fishing done around that area.

For a number of years up until about 1980 it was in a rather sorry condition and continuing to decay, a process that was aided by various sporadic acts of vandalism. During the 1980s a group of dedicated individuals and organisations got together and lovingly restored it, allowing it to be opened to the public in 1989. It subsequently quickly became one of the most popular heritage sites in Ireland. A system of guides was introduced and so on.

The principal approach to the cottage is across a bridge over the River Suir. This provides access from the car park to the cottage. The bridge needs extensive repair apparently and as a result a decision has been made to close the site for an indefinite period. I ask the Minister of State to consider the provision of alternative access to the cottage. There is temporary access. There are two options. One was suggested by Senator Mansergh from the Government benches in a letter to the Minister in regard to providing a temporary bridge to the cottage. The other alternative is the resurfacing and adequate maintenance of the right of way from the Clogheen Road. A temporary hard surface on the large flat field behind the toilets would also provide reasonable car parkage.

I put the point rhetorically that if there were a difficulty of access to another major site such as Newgrange or the Rock of Cashel, would the response of the authorities be simply to say "Fine, close it off for a period of a year". If access to this site is not addressed by either of the two methods I suggested, or another alternative that the Minister of State can suggest, it will be certainly closed for a year and there may be a recurrence of the vandalism that occurred during the 1980s, as a result of which the cottage was very nearly lost. The Minister of State will be aware of a number of instances where historic buildings were destroyed by fires. In the 1920s it was deliberate. Subsequently a number of houses of architectural significance were lost through accident fire, Rockingham House, being a classic example.

With regard to the importance of these sites of architectural heritage, this is not a great house, but it is the kind of an appurtenance of that kind of lifestyle. The tragedy is that in 1918 there were about 1,500 of these architecturally important houses in Ireland but that number is now reduced to 30, which represents an absolutely catastrophic decline. That highlights the need to take great care of them.

The car park to this site is accessed through the Cahir Park forest and it is simply a clearing in the wood, situated in an isolated areas about five minutes walk from the cottage. The walk to the site is also through a densely wooded area. Therefore, it is quite remote and people might feel vulnerable there, particularly as there have been a series of incidents of vandalism against cars parked there either by officials or by tourists over the years. This is very regrettable because it indicates the degree to which people are vulnerable there.

Representations were made by some of the guides to the OPW regarding the position, health and safety issue on site, the provision of safe car parking and so on to which, I am told, they got a pretty dusty answer. They were told by somebody from OPW to get off the Minister's property or their cars would be removed. They were also informed subsequently by a senior civil servant of the OPW head office that the reason the OPW does not want them park in the only relatively safe area near the work entrance is that in his opinion once the guides cross the bridge, they are then on council property and the OPW is no longer responsible for their safe access to and egress from work. In other words, it is a kind of demarcating dispute. I gather there is a fair amount of red tape flying around. It took ages to get even a lick on the bridge because there was an argy-bargy about who was responsible, who had to pay for the paint, who provided the brushes and the usual old nonsense.

Since then there has been a kind of threatened position whereby it was possible that the bridge would be closed and a letter dated 20 September 2005 was sent, which states, if there is a consensus that the car park is not suitable or safe to use, then it may be necessary to close the site to the public and consider the options for the future for future access. In other words, the fact that the guides complained about the vulnerability of the car park, the response of the officials was that if guides do not like the car park, the OPW will close the site. That is an odd way to behave. Last year the OPW refused to open the site on 2 March as scheduled. It also refused to offer contracts until people signed a parking form. Another contract was produced at a meeting on 12 April between the guides, union officials and representatives of the OPW. They were told that contracts would not be issued unless the guides agreed to whatever proposals were put to them before they even knew what they were. If that is an accurate summary of the situation, it is daft.

Like the Minister of State, I come from a good midlands agricultural background. My grandfather was a farmer. He was a fairly improvident man who lived the life of what he thought was a gentleman farmer, but I doubt if even he would have bought that kind of pig in a poke. It is just not done as country people are a little bit cuter than that.

The cottage was closed on 9 November 2006, ten days ahead of schedule, as the bridge was damaged according to the OPW. There is no visual evidence of damage, but I understand that the decking may be taken off due to some kind of structural difficulty. That is a great pity. I ask the Minister of State to give some kind of undertaking that this greatly cherished site will be made available to the public as soon as possible, and that the building be safeguarded against the possibility of vandalism. I also ask that the welfare, the safety and the jobs of the excellent professional guides be safeguarded.

Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)
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I thank the Senator for raising this question. I was asked to answer a problem about public access to the house, but I was not aware that the guides had a particular axe to grind. They had not brought it to my attention.

David Norris (Independent)
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They have an axe to grind. Can the Minister of State get in contact with them to find out what they have to say?

Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)
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Perhaps they might make contact with me. I have not had any communications from them.

David Norris (Independent)
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Fine.

Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)
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I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to address the House on the subject of the Swiss Cottage in Cahir, County Tipperary. The Swiss Cottage may be without peer in the realm of fantasy, but it also has few equals in the field of architectural history. It is rightly considered to be among the finest examples surviving of the ornamental cottage. In this context, and as one of the more renowned garden or landscape buildings in the country, the Swiss Cottage stands proudly alongside the Casino at Marino, a site also in the care of the Office of Public Works, as a very fine example of a sophisticated garden building.

Situated near Cahir, the Swiss Cottage was constructed in the early years of the 19th century as a fanciful realisation of an idealised countryside cottage. Built by Richard Butler, the 12th Lord Cahir, it was intended as an occasional residence and as a backdrop of a more unusual character for entertainment. Its conception was perhaps not without certain modesty, but its realisation was spectacular. In 1989 the cottage was presented to the Irish nation and since the early 1990s has been part of the portfolio of heritage sites presented to the public by the Office of Public Works. Today, the cottage stands as a testament to the many figures involved in its renovation, to its designer, and to the family responsible for its erection, the Butlers of Cahir.

Public access to the Swiss Cottage is by way of a bridge across the River Suir. In recent times, the condition of this bridge has, on visual inspection, given cause for concern. In late 2006, a consultant engineer was appointed by the Office of Public Works to carry out an assessment of the bridge and to make recommendations on its structural condition and the level of work required. Early in this assessment process, the engineer reported that the bridge was in dangerous condition and recommended that access to it be limited pending his full inspection and report. At that stage, access by motor vehicles was restricted.

When it was received at the beginning of 2007, the engineer's full report underlined the dangerous condition of the bridge, highlighted the ongoing erosion of its structural members and recommended repair as a matter of urgency. Based on these recommendations, the Office of Public Works acted swiftly to request the preparation of the necessary tender documents for the repair of the bridge. These documents are scheduled to be complete by the week beginning 12 March 2007. At that point, tenders will be invited immediately with a view to the necessary repair work being commenced at the earliest possible date.

The first step in the works programme will involve the removal of the deck of the bridge, which is in an unstable condition. With the necessity to remove the deck, the closure of the bridge is absolutely essential. For both practical operational reasons and for health and safety, the removal of the deck must take place when the river is at its lowest. Unfortunately this period happens to be when the site is normally open to the public as part of the Heritage Sites of Ireland programme operated by the Office of Public Works.

In this context, an alternative access to allow the cottage to remain open was examined. The only alternative access on the cottage side of the river is a private road which is in poor condition. While the Office of Public Works has a right of way over this road, for works purposes this does not extend to public access. This roadway is not suitable for cars and there are no parking facilities in the area close to the Cottage. In addition the roadway would also provide the only access to the site for emergency services should they be required. The advice available suggests that the roadway would not be suitable for an ambulance. The question of providing an alternative temporary bridge was also considered, but given the extent of the work required on either side of the river bank in repairing the existing bridge, it is felt that this option is not feasible from a health and safety perspective.

I am very hopeful that all of the necessary work to repair the bridge at the Swiss Cottage can be completed during the course of 2007. It is regretful that such a magnificent site will not be available to the public this year but the dangerous condition of the only public access to the site means that there is no other choice but to close it to the public. The period of its closure will used by the Office of Public Works to bring forward its plans to re-thatch the building, work originally pencilled in for 2008, thereby minimising further possible disruption in the future. In the meantime, visitors to the Cahir area can still visit the magnificent Cahir Castle, which attracts in excess of 60,000 each year.

David Norris (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. It is no consolation to the people in the Swiss Cottage that they can visit Cahir Castle, as they can do that any time. The Minister of State also referred to the Casino at Marino, but that is a disaster. Architecturally it is beautiful, but there has been a complete lack of respect for the surroundings and the permission granted for buildings all over the place is scandalous in European terms. I am afraid that the Casino is not the best example.

Is the Minister of State prepared to listen to the guides who might offer a view on the idea of maintaining some limited degree of accessibility to the public? If they came to Dublin, could they meet him for a quarter of an hour.

Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)
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Absolutely.