Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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163. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the visitor numbers at each site owned or run by the Office of Public Works for 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28631/13]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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The Office of Public Works (OPW) maintains and operates a range of important visitor heritage sites across the country. 70 of these sites are presented with full Guide Services off which 24 are open all year round, and the remainder for a limited part of the year, mainly between April and October. OPW also operates a number of visitor sites that have free admission but do not have a guided presence and consequently visitor numbers are not recorded at these sites. An example of such a site would be St. Stephen's Green. Visitors to some guided sites are only recorded if they enter the visitor centre of that site. For example, Glendalough monastic site may be accessed freely without entering the visitor centre and being formally recorded.

Figures have been collated therefore on the basis of those OPW visitor sites where a guided service is provided and where visitor numbers are recorded. The 2013 figures have been compiled up to Sunday 26 May. The visitor numbers at each site are shown in tabular statement which has been sent to the Chairman under separate cover.

I am pleased to state that a direct comparison of the total 2011 and 2012 recorded visitor numbers at OPW sites shows an overall increase of nearly 11%.