Written answers
Tuesday, 9 April 2024
Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
Departmental Properties
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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353. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the rationale behind denial of access to Castletown Demesne for 17 out of 24 hours extended gate closures (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14610/24]
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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355. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform whether the local emergency services were informed in advance of the changed opening hours to the Castletown Demesne; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14612/24]
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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356. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if all efforts are being made by the OPW to respond to the community in a way that reflects the particular sensitivity, emotion and psychological value to and within that community of all matters involving and pertaining to Castletown Demesne; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14613/24]
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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357. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to outline any new decisions or approaches to the summertime opening of and access to the Castletown Demesne; whether any new decisions or arrangements will be notified appropriately, widely and with optimum timing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14614/24]
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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358. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the speed limit on Lime Avenue on 30 September 2023 on the approach through Castletown housing estate and through the historic famine gates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14623/24]
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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359. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the date on which the traffic-management protocol regarding Castletown/Lime Avenue released through FOI was implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14624/24]
Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 353, 355, 356, 357, 358 and 359 together.
To be able to revert to the normal opening hours, it is imperative that the Office of Public Works grounds staff can return to Castletown House and Estate. The OPW Castletown team have not been able to gain entry to their workplace in the normal manner since October 2023.
Without dedicated OPW grounds staff, daily safety inspections, essential for public safety, cannot be conducted.
This leads to several issues:
- Safety Concerns: Lack of maintenance increases risks like fallen branches, uneven paths, potholes in paths, and unchecked bridges, jeopardising visitor safety.
- Visual Deterioration: Absence of staff has led to a decline in the presentation of the Estate due to absence of any maintenance and upkeep over the last 6 months. Additionally missed seasonal tasks like planting and biodiversity initiatives will lead to the deterioration of the landscape. It took 12 years of dedicated work by the OPW horticultural team to achieve the Annex IV and Pollinator Award designations, but without constant maintenance this biodiversity will be lost.
- Rise in Anti-Social Behaviour: Decreased passive surveillance has resulted in increased incidents of anti-social behaviour, including unauthorised access by scramblers and unleashed dogs, posing risks to both visitors and the environment.
The grounds of Castletown Estate are a managed parkland which is overseen by a dedicated team of OPW horticultural and landscaping staff. This team looks after all the outdoor works including general tasks such as planting bulbs and mowing the grasslands as well as more specialist tasks. These include preparing habitats for native bees and increasing biodiversity measures across the Estate. As a result of the work of this team, Castletown Estate is one of the finest parklands in the State in terms of presentation and biodiversity.
Arguably more important than all of this, is the fact that the grounds staff in Castletown ensure that the site is properly maintained and therefore safe for the public to enjoy.
Without OPW staff on site, the OPW can no longer guarantee the safety of visitors to the grounds of Castletown. Rather than closing the site entirely, the OPW took the decision to keep the site open with reduced hours which broadly coincide with hours that a skeleton team of staff are on site to safeguard the house and collection. Signage was erected around the site to publicise the reduced hours but also to underline the increased risks visitors could encounter on site. The decision to keep the site open was made to facilitate the community as much as possible.
The OPW recognises the importance of green spaces for the public and would like to highlight the crucial role that the OPW staff have played in providing such a beautiful landscape at Castletown. The importance of Castletown Demesne took on additional significance during the COVID pandemic when the site was so heavily used by the people of North Kildare. It should be noted that during the pandemic OPW operational staff were regarded as essential workers and attended their place of work every day so that the public could enjoy the parklands at Castletown.
All amenity spaces made available to the public need considerable investment in terms of time and resources and the dedication of expert staff to maintain them so they can be enjoyed by visitors now and into the future. This is particularly true in Castletown given its importance as an historic parkland. As much of this work happens out of the sight of the public it often goes unseen but the importance of this work becomes increasingly apparent the longer the inability to carry it out persists.
The emergency services require 24 hour access to the site and therefore hold keys to the Castletown estate so that they can access the estate at any time day or night. I can confirm that shortly after the OPW lost access via the M4 route, the emergency services were invited on site to carry out trial runs to ensure that they are satisfied with the new access routes.
The speed limit on the Castletown housing estate is a matter for the local authority. The OPW has responsibility once traffic enters the Celbridge gate.
The traffic-management standard operating procedures are a constant feature and are revised and updated on a regular basis.
The OPW has recently received a proposal from a community representative group - Save Castletown - which lays out a roadmap for the return of the staff, while also ensuring that Lime Avenue remains primarily pedestrianised for the majority of the day. The OPW welcomes this proposal and we believe that it can form the basis of an agreement that could lead to a solution that works for all parties.
The proposal envisages OPW staff, contractors and deliveries getting vehicular access to the Lime Avenue at pre-determined times of the day thus allowing the Lime Avenue to be primarily pedestrianised for most of each day. The adoption of this proposal would allow staff to return to maintain and secure the site and allow the opening hours to return to normal. The OPW would like to note that this proposal is now with the Working Group for consideration.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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354. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if it is the case that staff have not remained at the gate Castletown Demesne to allow people to exit past 16.30, therefore denying them safe exit, with public forced to lift buggies, bikes, scooters, mobility aids, dogs over fences, this having a serious impact on people with mobility issues and additional physical needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14611/24]
Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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As a member of the Working Group the Deputy will be aware that the OPW Castletown team have not been able to gain entry to their workplace in the normal manner since October 2023. This means that there is currently no staff caring for the grounds and no staff available to carry out the safety measures which are a basic requirement. As a result of a lack of OPW staff on site, the grounds are starting to deteriorate visually. The normal winter tasks such as tree and bulb planting as well as pollinator friendly interventions have not taken place. The lack of OPW personnel has also led to an increase of anti-social behaviour with reports of scramblers accessing the site and a significant increase of dogs being let off leashes.
Without OPW staff on site, the OPW can no longer guarantee the safety of visitors to the grounds of Castletown. Rather than closing the site entirely, the OPW took the decision to keep the site open on the basis of reduced hours which broadly coincide with hours that a skeleton team of staff are on site to safeguard the house and collection. Signage was erected around the site to publicise the reduced hours but also to underline the increased risks visitors could encounter on site. The decision to keep the site open was made to facilitate the community as much as possible.
The revised opening and closing times are prominently displayed on large signs at points of access and have been widely shared on social media. It is imperative that visitors using the parklands respect the hours of operation and vacate the park by the posted times as would the case on any other historic property or public park.
The procedure to lock gates at notified times is standard practice across all OPW sites, as well as the majority of local authority parks. This is important from the perspective of the Occupier’s Liability Act 2023. The OPW has a wider perspective and challenge in the management of not only Castletown, but other heritage properties across the State.
The OPW employs a security company to open and close the gates at the agreed times. They have been instructed to display flexibility and have often been on standby to allow members of the public to vacate the park.
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