Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 April 2025
345. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the full running costs of Farmleigh House, from 2018 to date in 2025, in tabular form. [15480/25]
View answerFarmleigh Estate was acquired by the State in 1999 and it encompasses Farmleigh House, seventy eight acres of gardens, a lake and parklands with two gallery/exhibition areas, outdoor buildings and a farmyard.
The primary use for Farmleigh is as a secure State guest house. Farmleigh has accommodated high profile visitors such as US presidents, the late Queen of the England and other members of the British royal family and many heads of State and other VIPs. Farmleigh also hosts international diplomatic meetings and conferences in a secure environment as well as Irish government business on a regular basis.
Farmleigh is also a high profile heritage site with approximately 63,000 paying visitors and 227,000 visitors to the parklands.
Farmleigh hosts and extensive cultural programme and regular schedule of events such as India Day, Japan Day and Nepal Day. The galleries accommodate a full schedule of exhibitions all year round and the Farmleigh markets are extremely popular. The Christmas , Easter and Halloween programmes at Farmleigh have grown in both scale and popularity in recent years. There is also a very popular café, the Boathouse Restaurant, in the parklands.
The attached expenditure sets out the annual running costs for the estate encompassing both staffing costs and operational expenditure on goods, services and utilities. The figure for expenditure on pay includes all costs relating to security constables and the operation of twenty four hour security of the site. It also includes the pay for general operatives, gardeners, administrative staff and guides who deliver guided tours of the house.
The non-pay operational costs include all maintenance costs for the house and wider estate (including Stewards Lodge) as well as utilities, supplies and all goods and services. The costs for maintenance and operation of the wider estate are also paid from this budget.
