Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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74. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the arrangements in place for visitors to the homestead of the 1916 signatory Seán Mac Diarmada; the months, days of the week and opening hours of the monument; his plans to extend these hours; the amount of publicity dedicated to the homestead by the Office of Public Works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42587/17]

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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The Sean Mac Dhiarmada Cottage is a National Monument in State care and is managed and maintained by the Office of Public Works.

Visitor access to the Cottage is currently feasible on a pre-arranged basis only. The OPW made arrangements in 2016 for a local Heritage Centre in Kiltyclogher to be made keyholders for the property to facilitate this and also supported the Centre financially in the employment of a TÚS worker to lead Guide Services to the Cottage as part of the Year of Commemoration. Currently, in the absence of a local response initially, anyone requiring access to the site must contact the OPW at Dromahair.

As the OPW does not itself participate in the direct delivery of Guide services at this site. However it is not in a position to give details in relation to the timing or frequency of tours and it is not currently involved in any marketing of the site; however, it was the general understanding that during 2016, the Centre made tours available on demand during normal working hours in the summer months as required by visitor arrivals in their facility in Kiltyclogher.

The Centre was not in a position to provide services to the Cottage in 2017 and is currently closed. The OPW remains open to the possibility of assisting a local initiative at the site and has indicated publicly recently that funding support options remain available. The OPW has also indicated that it will support initiatives such as publication distribution, creating an online presence and any other measures designed to increase awareness of the property.