Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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281. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a list of works completed at St. Enda's Park in Rathfarnham in Dublin 16 by the Office of Public Works, in the past five years; if he will provide a list of agreed future works and the schedule for agreed future works by the Office of Public Works. [24587/15]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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St. Enda’s and the Pearse Museum are of significance to the history of the modern Irish Republic. In recognition of Patrick Pearse’s involvement in events leading up to the Rising, a number of capital works are being undertaken at the site to be completed for the centenary commemorations of the 1916 rising.

Over the past 5 years a programme of tree maintenance and replanting has been undertaken to improve tree safety in the park. The high winds of the winter of 2013/14 resulted in the park being closed on a number of occasions. During 2014, therefore, a number of Cupressus macrocarpatrees, damaged by the weather and disease, were removed.

In the grounds of St. Enda’s Park a seminal Norse/Gaelic Revival garden was created during the early nineteenth century by constructing various follies to evoke and commemorate Ireland’s mythological past. A conservation plan for these was drawn up in 2007, and works began in August of 2013 to restore and consolidate these structures. This work was completed in 2014.

To date, the following individual works have been completed at St. Enda's:

-A replacement oak bridge was constructed and placed over Whitechurch stream;

-The Druid’s Glen was repointed and the surrounding walls rebuilt;

-Hermitage Arch, Triple Arch, Fort Arch and Niche were all consolidated and repointed;

-The Cromlech was reconstructed and pinned with stainless-steel dowels;

-Conservation works were undertaken on the Hermitage, which was cleared of vegetation and repointed, with new window and door grills added;

-the Summerhouse was also conserved with new steel bracing, repointing, limewash and door and window grills removed to allow access;

-Emmet’s Fort was re-roofed and doors and windows made good;

-the Tower Stairs were fully excavated revealing a nineteenth century hydraulic ram in a subterranean chamber, the stairs were replaced and the entire building repointed and parapets rebuilt;

-Paths within the walled garden have been upgraded and flower beds enlarged to improve the amenity value of the garden.

Works being undertaken during 2015, with a completion date by year end include:

-Works on the Lake which include dredging the original pond area and building a boulder wall to redirect flow of the stream, due to commence in July 2015, anticipated period 4 weeks;

-Conservation work to be undertaken on the Weir and waterfall below the Tower stairs. The river walls have been undermined and the weir cills have been damaged and broken. A scope of works has been agreed and will be undertaken during August and September 2015;

-A permanent exhibition on the life and times of Patrick Pearse is being installed in the museum basement, cases are in position, refurbishment of doors, walls and electrical systems to be completed by November 2015;

-A model classroom is being constructed in one of the rooms surrounding the courtyard to demonstrate the original layout and position of classrooms;

Future works (subject to availability of resources) include:

-Refurbishment of the courtyard veranda roof;

-Universal accessibility works to the Halla Mor;

-Conservation work to the spillway at the northern end of the Whitechurch stream;

-Car park and entrance area redevelopment at Sarah Curran Avenue in collaboration with South Dublin County Council.

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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282. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to access the site at Durrow Church in County Offaly; if plans are in place for a car park and walkway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24766/15]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Durrow Abbey site is an important National Monument which is owned by the State and is in the care of the Office of Public Works (OPW). A significant conservation project was undertaken there in recent years, including relocating the vulnerable High Cross on the site into the Church and undertaking visitor presentation works. The site is therefore in good order currently from a preservation aspect.

As the Deputy is aware, although there is free access to the site, which is open to the public daily, there are difficulties in actively marketing the venue and encouraging larger numbers of visitors to the property because of safety issues relating to the nearby N52 road. It has not been feasible to mitigate this problem without incurring significant capital costs, and, in the current financial situation, the level of capital investment required is not available. This position has been confirmed recently following a reappraisal of the project options after further direct engagement with the National Roads Authority.

Understanding that road access is highly problematic, the OPW is currently working with other public partners locally (Offaly Co. Council and Coillte) to develop an alternative walking route which will link the National Monument property with the existing Coillte amenity forest trails nearby. The Coillte estate is served by a carpark on its property and the objective will be that visitors will therefore, once work is completed, be in a position to park locally and walk safely to the Durrow attraction. It would be the intention of the OPW to complete this work next year.

Given the importance of the Durrow site, it remains a priority for both the OPW and Offaly Co. Council to develop an economic solution to the access problem which will ensure that the visitor potential of the site is more fully realised. In the short term, the proposed footpath will provide visitors with a safe route into the site and this objective will remain the focus in the immediate term.