A popular country house estate in the west has been forced to restrict access to the public because of increased insurance costs.
Westport House estate in Co Mayo, which traditionally remained open to the public for walks on a year-round basis, will now open for the three-month summer period only.
Management at Westport House say they have not chosen to do this lightly.
Lord Jeremy Altamont, owner and managing director of the estate, regrets that he will not be able to continue to make the grounds available for the enjoyment of the public at all times, as was the tradition.
After enduring numerous problems over the years, including vandalism and speed-driving through the estate, access to the grounds during out-of-season times is now severely restricted.
"We are very sad it has come to this; that these kind of restrictions have to be imposed. We have always prided ourselves on being the only private estate in the country to be open in this way.
"We are open in reality for just three months of the year and we also have to work harder at everything because we are not near a centre of population here," said Lord Altamont.
"We are very anxious that it is over a year ago that we raised the issue of the insurance premium problems publicly. We had been raising the matter for four years before that but despite all the talk, nothing has happened and nothing has been done."
He said the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, set up a commission to investigate the matter but nothing had come of it other than the plan to abolish "no foal, no fee" cases by solicitors.
"Last year we incurred a 60 per cent premium increase and our premium rose to €122,000. It is massive money. We thought we would have to close down. We are very angry and utterly frustrated and annoyed.
"We are suffering because of the lack of any progress in tackling the high level of insurance premiums," he said.
Ms Nora Heraty, marketing manager of Westport House, said insurance was the main problem, although security also had to be considered, as there had been recent incidents of malicious damage.
On the high insurance costs, she said: "We are out of line with the rest of Europe. In Ireland we have 2.5 times the level of claims than in the UK and the level of sums awarded here are 4.5 times the UK average.
To make matters worse, Ms Heraty said, the Government introduced a 1 per cent VAT rate increase for the tourism and accommodation sector following the budget last December.