For Immediate Use
18 October 2018
The Executive Council at its meeting on Wednesday, 17 October, agreed to support the request to petition the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, that the State should purchase part of the land at Luggala, Co Wicklow.
The entire estate of Luggala is currently up for sale with an asking price of €28m. A new owner could close off public access to the entire 5,000 acre estate virtually overnight and, under Irish law as it stands, there is nothing anyone or the State could do about it.
The petition is in support of asking the Minister to consider purchasing the portion of the lands which have traditionally been open to the public, for perhaps, €1.2m, based on the price paid by the State for a similar parcel of land in Glenasmole in the Dublin Mountains in 2016. It is vital that the iconic and much cherished landscape and lands of Luggala estate remain open to the public.
Congress is encouraging people to support this petition by visiting the following site, where you will have an opportunity to sign the petition:
Patricia King
General Secretary
Irish Congress of Trade Unions
ends
