I want to bring to the attention of An Tánaiste the importance of the issue of Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare, where the Office of Public Works, OPW, which is the owner of Castletown House and 230 acres or so of land, has been denied access by virtue of the actions of an adjoining landowner who is now the owner of the right of way. Neither the public nor the OPW will have a right of access unless immediate action is taken at whatever level possible, either through Kildare County Council separately or with the support of the OPW, to ensure access is restored without delay.

Deputy Lawless has raised this same issue. I am aware of it because Deputy Lawless spoke to me about this. A very unsatisfactory situation has emerged here. I learned about it post the acquisition of the land. It is a pity the State did not get control of it from day one. It is very important that all options be examined now. The fundamental objective has to be to restore the access of the general public to these lands. We live in a society and in a community and there is a public interest involved here that, irrespective of private property rights and so on, has to be taken on board by private landowners, particularly where there has been an established right of access for decades.