Rattoo national monument reopening
Deputy Daly pressed for the reopening of the former ecclesiastical site at Rattoo in Kerry, a major historic monument closed for 15 years. The Taoiseach said he would speak with the responsible Minister of State and seek a timeline for reopening.
Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle, and thank you for the opportunity to raise the issue of the former ecclesiastical site of Rattoo in Ballyduff, north Kerry. It is a national monument and 1,000 years old, and it is the best-preserved round tower in the whole country. It once hosted an abbey, a church, a hospital and even a school of music. It is of immense historical and local significance and huge tourism potential but it has been closed for 15 years while works are being carried out by the national monuments depot works. Most of those works have been completed. Can the Taoiseach give us a date when it will open again, either by taking away the scaffolding or by opening up the gate? Tourists cannot visit.
