Áras unsafe ‘for habitation’ when Robinson moved in

Obsolete electrical fittings, appalling conditions and antique kitchen equipment meant that fire and health and safety officers would have condemned Áras an Uachtaráin had they inspected it, incoming President Mary Robinson was told in a confidential 1990 report.

Then taoiseach Charles Haughey asked that the report be kept private and said remedial work should be done urgently, newly declassified State papers show.

Ms Robinson was inaugurated as president on December 3rd, 1990, taking over from Patrick Hillery who had held office for 14 years. Five days after her inauguration, consultant Michael Rosney inspected the building.

“Immediate and urgent attention must be given to ensure that the building is safe for habitation. The wiring and fusing are totally obsolete. There is no evidence of any fire detection mechanism,” he wrote.

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“Fire fighting equipment has not been checked since early 1989 and a member of staff of over ten years standing told me that to her knowledge there has never been a fire drill in the Áras. It is my belief that the relevant fire, health and safety authorities would have no option but to condemn the building.”

Some furniture was long overdue reupholstering, the windows needed attention “and in most of the building there was a general musty atmosphere”.

He also found that faulty-fitting doors were losing heat from the building. “To my mind, the private part of the building is in an appalling condition – totally unacceptable even in the most basic of our public buildings.”

The kitchen was in serious need of upgrading, he continued. “Some of the items of equipment, particularly in the kitchen area, were totally unfamiliar to me despite 12 years in hotel management. The items are at best interesting for their antique value.”

A copy of the report was sent to the OPW by Frank Murray, assistant secretary to the government, who said the findings were causing “considerable concern” to Ms Robinson. “She is especially worried about the state of the kitchens, which, she said, urgently require “a good cleaning job”.

An OPW architect took issue with some of the findings and wrote that “Mr Rosney is apparently unaware of the extensive maintenance work carried out in the past few years”. He added that relatively few major dinners or functions had been held in Áras an Uachtaráin during Dr Hillery’s presidency. “The kitchen equipment and facilities reflect this level of usage.”

The poor condition of the Áras had not gone unnoticed by visitors and in 1989 an American sent $1,000 towards the upkeep of the building.

Haughey ordered that it be returned, separate files reveal.

A Mr Prosperi from Florida visited Maeve Hillery at the residence in 1988. The following year, he sent the cheque, along with an offer to set up a fund to provide for the care and restoration of the house. He also offered to organise a fundraising event in Florida for that purpose.

The president’s office asked the Department of the Taoiseach for advice on what to do and it appeared that Haughey took great umbrage at the offer. The taoiseach said upkeep of the Áras should not “become the subject of private funding or sponsorship”, wrote government secretary Dermot Nally.

Cost of more than £116,000

Nally also said Haughey believed the condition of the Áras had been “the subject of favourable comment by visitors”.

A later report on the facilities, in January 1991, outlined a proposed five-phase development which would cost £116,100, between upgrading work and increased staff numbers.

The following month, an article in The Irish Times about plans to open up the Áras generated a swift letter from the Department of the Taoiseach. The article said Ms Robinson hoped to gradually increase the volume of people visiting the house and was looking at opening an interpretative centre showing the history of the residence.

The assistant government secretary wrote to Ms Robinson’s secretary on the same day, saying the taoiseach was concerned to see the president’s spokeswoman responding to a media query about an interpretative centre. He said the issue of such a centre was being examined and until that work was complete the taoiseach wanted “absolute confidentiality and that no statements to the media in this connection should be made”.

The taoiseach also asked that press releases or replies to media queries of substance be cleared with his department “where there is a possibility of confusion or conflict with Government proposals”.