Office of Public Works Priorities and Progress: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-19 ============================================================ Victor Boyhan (IND), Agricultural Panel I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his comprehensive report on the work of the Office of Public Works and the priorities and progress statement. I also thank him for his drive and enthusiasm since he became Minister of State in this area. I will single out three projects I am associated with. First, the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin is the jewel in the crown, the greatest oasis, rated as the best - outside of Edinburgh - botanical gardens in the world. I trained there for a number of years and know it well. I have been to Kew and worked in many botanic gardens across Europe and I know it is a wonderful jewel in the crown. I thank the OPW; Matthew Jebb, director of the National Botanic Gardens; and his staff. I make one ask. The fern house there is falling to the ground. There are various sites and planning permissions for it. I was out there Sunday week and again saw it all boarded up - what a shame. The great Victoria amazonica aquatic pool plant is no longer there. I know that is a project in hand and at some time the Minister of State might apprise us of progress there. The next thing for which I thank the Office of Public Works is the acquisition of Kilmacurragh house in County Wicklow, a further extension of the National Botanic Gardens. I am delighted to say I was there two weeks ago and saw the restoration the Minister of State has been involved in, that he has driven and is determined to see, albeit incrementally. It is an impressive operation and the house is being restored. That is an amazing piece of work and an amazing site. I ask people to go and see it. Finally, at Altamont House and Gardens in County Carlow, we see the Office of Public Works undertaking a massive restoration of a period house. It acquired that place. What is great about the OPW is it is a national organisation. We in Dublin are privileged and lucky, as are some of the larger cities, to have period gardens. What I particularly like about Altamont is you can go there for free. Every garden and public space I visit around Ireland outside Dublin and the big towns, there is a charge for it. In this case, however, there is no charge. There is a mere ask to put €1 in a machine to park for two hours at Altamont, which is very reasonable and fair. It has the most famous collection of snowdrops - Galanthus to those who know them. That is a wonderful achievement. I have a huge interest in Irish heritage gardens and all botanical and horticultural matters. I never visit any of those three sites without being exceptionally proud of the amazing horticulture and of the skill and artistry of horticulture and landscape design. I commend the Office of Public Works. When it restores homes in the hearts of estates, and these oases, they become alive. There are coffee shops, artisan foods and other activities. I say and ask the Minister of State to convey to the people involved: well done to the Office of Public Works. Well done also to the Minister of State, who I know to be centrally involved in driving three key projects in the past 12 months. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-19/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:57+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-19