Lissadell House - Government excuses shown up

HAVING wrung its hands at the prospect of spending €30 million refurbishing Lissadell House, the ancestral home of Countess Markiewicz, the Government turned down the chance of buying it for the nation.

It now transpires, however, that the cost of refurbishing the stately home was over-estimated by a whopping €25m. Despite a sustained campaign for State ownership, the Government claimed it was not economically feasible. We now learn that the private buyers have since refurbished 70% of it for less than €1m and will ultimately spend around €5m doing up the house.

How could the disparity be so wide? The only plausible explanation is that the Coalition never really wanted the house. Aware, however, of the political importance of the Markiewicz legacy, the cost was deliberately inflated as an excuse not to buy.