Madam, – Lissadell, a major asset of Sligo and the Irish nation and the ancestral home of 1916 leader Countess Markievicz, was purchased privately in 2003. The State declined the opportunity to buy it. In the intervening years the owners have restored the property from near-dereliction to a very high standard. Further sympathetic developments are also possible and the owners should be commended and encouraged in their efforts.
However, Sligo County Council, without proper debate, have proposed to include a public right of way across Lissadell. The owners had therefore found it necessary to take immediate legal action to prevent this undermining of their ability to manage their private property.
Furthermore, in order that the current operation and future improvement of Lissadell can continue, and in accord with the rights of our citizens regarding private property, it is essential that the owners of Lissadell are not impeded in their responsible operation of the property.
The owners are willing to explore the granting of access with the community and tourism interests on a regulated basis, a basis which would also have to be the case if it were publicly owned and managed. Unregulated access would make management impossible with implications for insurance, security, extra costs and so on.
We have now reached the stage where legal action may either close Lissadell or cost Sligo County Council and the public millions of euro. The council is already suffering a €2 million shortfall in its budget, making the provision of many essential services difficult without recourse to further taxation at the very time when people and businesses are suffering income reduction and unemployment is increasing.
Co Sligo cannot afford to lose the very significant income potential of Lissadell for jobs and tourism in this time of severe recession.
Last year there were 40,000 visitors who contributed significantly to the county’s income. Our region has persistently had the weakest tourism performance within the eight national tourism regions and Lissadell has the ability to significantly assist in improving that situation, being arguably the premier visitor attraction of the whole region.
The council cannot afford this legal action, and the county cannot afford to lose Lissadell. This whole disaster has come about due to our elected representatives failing to debate this matter properly at the start.
We hope Sligo County Council will at this late stage consider the interests of the owners, the wider public locally, within the county, nationally and abroad; and acknowledge the importance of supporting those who want respect for and appreciation of all aspects of our heritage. – Yours, etc,