Chinese premier is Farmleigh's first guest

Zhu Rongji, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, will this weekend become the first visiting foreign dignitary to be accommodated at Farmleigh, the Government-owned stately home.

Farmleigh, which once belonged to the Guinness brewing family, is set in its own 78 acres beside the Phoenix Park and cost a total of £41m to buy and renovate.

The house was formally declared open in July and attracted 10,000 sightseeing members of the public over the following two weekends.

More recently, extra work has been carried out in and around the property to ensure top level security for the visiting Chinese leader because of the fear of protests by organisations uneasy about his country’s record on human rights.

Razor wire has been fitted to perimeter walls and closed-circuit TV cameras and lights have been installed at strategic points around the estate.

Mary Heffernan, project manager at Phoenix Park, gave an assurance today that the extra measures were ‘‘purely short term’’, and said the temporary fittings would be removed as soon as the Chinese visit ended.

She added: ‘‘We are working very closely with senior police, who are taking this trip extremely seriously.

‘‘They feel what they have done is correct and appropriate in this case.

‘‘This is the level of security they have insisted upon, and we have to go along with that.’’

Farmleigh will now be used for all visits like that of Mr Zhu, and any security measures thought necessary will be assessed ahead of each occasion.

A garda spokesman confirmed that ‘‘state-of-the-art’’ security had been put in place in Farmleigh.

Mr Zhu arrives in Dublin tomorrow (Sunday) and will be greeted by the Taoiseach before beginning his two-day stay at Farmleigh.

He is due to attend a state dinner in Dublin tomorrow night, where entertainment will be provided by dancers from the hit Riverdance international show.

Political talks get under way on Monday, also at Farmleigh, which has been specially equipped for such occasions.

The Government is expected to raise the human rights issue before Mr Zhu heads off for a day-long visit to Kerry.

Among leading opponents of the trip are the Green Party, whose European Parliament member Patricia McKenna today described Irish Government hospitality for their visitor as ‘‘disgraceful’’.

She said ministers should be condemning the Chinese leader, but instead ‘‘it seems they are putting commercial and business interests above the interests of human rights’’.