Leinster Lawn, the scenic green space at the rear of Leinster House on Merrion Street, Dublin, is to be restored in full by the autumn.
The lawn was taken up around five years ago and has been used as a surface car- park while re-development work took place on the new Millennium wing of Leinster House and on the nearby Kildare House in Kildare Street.
A spokesman for the Office of Public Works (OPW) confirmed to The Irish Times last night that it was hoped to carry out a restoration of Leinster Lawn during the summer recess.
The spokesman said negotiations were under way with the Houses of the Oireachtas on future parking facilities. He said some parking spaces would be provided but that it was up to the Oireachtas to decide on how these were allocated.
The spokesman confirmed that an earlier plan to develop an underground car-park beneath Leinster Lawn had now been shelved.
Minister for Finance Brian Cowen told the Dáil last week in a written parliamentary reply that the "restoration of Leinster Lawn had been contingent on the completion of the refurbishment of Kildare House for the Houses of the Oireachtas".
"As this project is nearing completion, consultations with the Houses of the Oireachtas have commenced regarding a landscaping scheme to effect the re-instatement of Leinster Lawn and the scheduling of associated works. Works to the lawn could be carried out during this year's summer recess", he said.
Green Party deputy John Gormley, who raised the issue of Leinster Lawn with the Minister , said the area involved was an important civic space and that the people of Dublin did not want to look at it being used "as an ugly car park".
He said initially the lawn had been removed to make way for a car-park "as a temporary measure". However, he said he had had suspicions about just how temporary this facility was to have been. "Putting a car-park on Leinster Lawn sent out the wrong examples."
