Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister for Justice and Equality to the House.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I am somewhat honoured that the Minister, Deputy Shatter, has decided to come in to take this Adjournment motion. Castledonovan is a castle in a semi-derelict state but is of some historical importance to west Cork and Ireland. I was a member of the national monument committee of Cork County Council for a number of years and was actively proposing the refurbishment and renewal of Castledonovan for its historical importance. Eventually it was in private ownership and came into the hands of the State. My concern is that a neighbour who lives close to it said it is like a derelict building site. There has been scaffolding erected for ten or 11 years and little progress seems to have been made. My purpose in putting down this motion was to ascertain the facts.

What money has been spent on it to date? When is it likely that the refurbishment work will be concluded? When, if ever, will it be open to the public? What is the situation regarding expediting the work? Is there money there to do the work? I am looking for answers, and I will save some of my fire, if I have any left, for the response. I await the Minister's reply. I would like to have the facts of where we are regarding that project. It is under the remit of the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, under the OPW. I raise this out of general concern, not out of any criticism. I frequently pass the castle and it is of some historical importance. I am hoping the Minister can throw some light as to where we are regarding this project.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator. I apologise on behalf of my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, who was unavailable. I was asked to stand in for him, so the Senator will appreciate that the information I will give him is the information that has been supplied by Deputy Brian Hayes's office to me.

I am advised that Castledonovan Castle, also sometimes known as O'Donovan's Castle, is a national monument in private ownership but in the care of the national monuments service of the OPW. It is located near Drimoleague, County Cork. It has an interesting history. Castledonovan is a castle, or tower house, of medium size and was the seat of the Clann Cathail of the O'Donovans during the 16th century. It was occupied for a time by the O'Donovans in the latter part of the 1500s but some histories report that the family had largely moved in the early years of the 17th century to another location closer to the sea. It was severely damaged in the 1640s, reputedly by the forces of Oliver Cromwell, who destroyed part of the structure apparently in retaliation for the family having sided with the Stuarts and participated in the rebellion of 1641. The building was abandoned after this and was not lived in subsequently.

Castledonovan is in private ownership and is therefore under the guardianship of the Commissioners of Public Works, who must make arrangements with the landowner to gain access to the building to carry out works. This arrangement is provided for legally in the various National Monuments Acts and this allows the Commissioners of Public Works to perform works to the building and undertake any maintenance necessary to keep it in good order. The building is wholly located on private lands, with no formal right of way currently for members of the public to access the property. However, the landowner is very committed to public access and has agreed with the national monuments service that he will facilitate public access to the building once all the work has been completed.

The national monuments service has been engaged in an ongoing scheme of works at Castledonovan for several years. The project commenced in 2001 and will be fully concluded later this summer. The project has been technically very difficult and was hampered in the early stages, particularly by the condition of the building which was, at that time, fragile, structurally unstable and dangerous. The project was also affected by relatively poor weather over a number of summer seasons and the need, at times, to divert resources away to other conservation and maintenance projects ongoing in the region at the same time. While the length of time taken to bring the work to completion has been somewhat protracted, this needs to be viewed in the context of a project which was complex and, at times made more difficult by its particular circumstances.

The first phase of the work involved consolidating the structure to enable OPW's own workforce to work safely on the building and carry out necessary conservation of the structures. A comprehensive archaeological investigation, over three successive seasons, was also carried out at the site and this had to be done before any of the extensive conservation work necessary was undertaken. Elements of the original structure were unearthed during this excavation, some of which craftsmen were subsequently able to successfully use in the conservation project, re-incorporating these elements into the preserved structure.

The work at Castledonovan was carried out by OPW's own direct labour force, based at Mallow, County Cork. The project cost, including archaeology, scaffolding, OPW labour and all materials in the period 2001 to date is €1,672,841.83. The project is almost complete with only access stairs to the building to be provided and a small amount of fencing and landscaping yet to be done externally. As part of the landscaping, OPW will also, by agreement with the landowner, provide a small number of car parking spaces which will facilitate visitors wanting to see the castle. It is intended also to provide an interpretative panel outlining some of the history of the site and a local caretaker has been identified who will open and close the site and maintain a watch over it to ensure it is not damaged.

There are no plans to provide any guide facilities at Castledonovan, as at other OPW sites around the country, but Deputy Brian Hayes made considerable efforts last year through the communities initiative to invite interested local groups to join with the OPW to present sites such as this to visitors on a voluntary basis. I commend this initiative to the Senator and I suggest that if there are responsible and interested locals in the area who might be interested and who can organise themselves successfully, he should please refer them to the OPW. It is hoped that all works at Castledonovan will be completed by late June or early July this year and I hope that visitors will then be able to come and view the results of the long years of effort and skill by the craftsmen and women working within OPW.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. It is just two years since this Seanad came into being and he has been in the House many times, and this is the best piece of news he has brought me in those two years. I thank him for that. Perhaps it was unintentional that he was the bearer of the news but I am pleased that it is coming close to completion. I am also pleased that I was one of the few people politically, as a member of the national monument committee of Cork County Council back in the 1980s, to urge that this process take place. I will, as suggested by the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes in that response, contact some local community groups which are doing a lot of work regarding walkways in the area. There is a very vibrant community in Drimoleague, which is down the road. The information is positive and I look forward to the opening. As a lot of money is being spent there, perhaps Deputy Shatter would convey to Deputy Brian Hayes that there should be an official opening. It is of major interest and work has been going on there for 12 years. Sometimes we are critical of the OPW but I am pleased that the fruits of the labour of those involved can be seen by the public. That is very important because there is some public concern. They are kept in the dark and this information will throw light on the project and I am glad it is coming close to its conclusion. I thank the Minister for the positive news.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I am extremely happy that I have made Senator O'Donovan happy. I am also relieved that as a consequence of what I was in a position to tell him, the Senator did not have to carry out his threat of starting to shoot at me. I can tell the Senator there are enough people shooting at me without adding him to the posse. I will certainly convey to Deputy Brian Hayes the Senator's request that he consider some official opening and his thanks for the work that has been undertaken and the possibility of his being able to identify individuals who may be interested in the project to the extent of showing visitors around. It is good to be able to come in and bring good news. It is the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes's good news, but I am happy to convey it on his behalf to the House.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Instead of shooting the messenger I will praise the messenger.