Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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919. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of funding for Carrigafoyle Castle, Ballylongford, County Kerry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25757/16]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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The car-park at Carrigafoyle Castle is not in the ownership of the State. Budgetary allocations allow the OPW to fulfil its obligations under National Monuments legislation for the monuments under its care. There are no funds available to be used for any works on areas not in State ownership/guardianship or control.

In relation to the request to illuminate the Castle at night-time, there are a number of aesthetic and practical considerations involved in deciding whether floodlighting of particular sites is either feasible or appropriate. The nearby availability of a power source, financial economy, rural light pollution and the appropriateness of floodlighting isolated sites are all considerations that must be taken into account. As the general policy of the OPW is not to floodlight National Monuments in rural areas, it is not intended to provide illumination at Carrigafoyle Castle.