Contractor 'harassed' at Kildare's Castletown House

‘The OPW respects the rights of the community to protest peacefully; however, all workers have a right to dignity and respect in their workplace and have a right to a safe workplace'
Contractor 'harassed' at Kildare's Castletown House

Castletown House

An OPW contractor were “harassed” at Castletown House this morning by members of the public, say the OPW.

Gardaí have been notified about the incident, say the OPW, after an “essential contractor” accessed the site this morning at 7am.

There was also an incident on Monday where a small group of protestors blocked access to a contractor.

‘The OPW manages hundreds of heritage sites across the country, and it is standard practice that pedestrians and vehicles share public spaces such as roadways and paths within the historic estates. Day in, day out, vehicles access similar paths and roadways at our sites across the country for example, at St Stephen’s Green, the Phoenix Park, Kilkenny Castle, Doneraile Estate and the National Botanic gardens.

‘It is not possible to maintain a house of national historic significance and an estate of 227 acres without essential vehicles.

‘In order to open Castletown House and to open the estate from dawn to dusk, access for these vehicles and services is required. The OPW has planned controlled, speed-limited access for essential service vehicles. This will ensure that the whole of the Castletown Estate is safe for visitors.

‘This morning at 7am Tuesday 10th June, an essential contractor accessed the site to begin repairs on the heating system in Castletown House. These works are urgent. As the site does not open to the public until 8.30am, there was no requirement for the vehicle to be accompanied.

‘Contractors on site were harassed by members of the public close to Castletown House shortly after 7am, again before the property was open to the public.

‘This harassment incident is being formally reported to An Garda Siochána today.

‘The OPW respects the rights of the community to protest peacefully; however, all workers have a right to dignity and respect in their workplace and have a right to a safe workplace. The OPW will not tolerate any harassment of its staff or contractors on our properties.’ 

This summer there will be no general visitor parking for Castletown House. Similar to Kilkenny Castle, it will operate without a visitor car park. Visitors should use public transport or active travel, such as walking or cycling, to visit Castletown House and Estate. 

The OPW is developing an application for planning permission for a visitor car park in Kildare Innovation Centre. This application will be made this summer.

Once essential service vehicles have access, Castletown House will operate a guided tour service from 9:30 to 16:30. The Castletown Estate will operate from dawn until dusk for visitors to the historic design landscape.

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