Micheál Martin has never stayed overnight in official Taoiseach residence

Micheál Martin has never stayed in the official Taoiseach’s residence in the Phoenix Park – in contrast to former taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who stayed there for 119 nights during his term of office.

Records released by the Office of Public Works show neither Mr Martin nor Simon Harris, when taoiseach, have ever spent a night at Steward’s Lodge, which is located on the grounds of Farmleigh House.

The four-bedroom period house was refurbished in 2006, at a cost of €600,000, for use as a taoiseach’s residence. The last valuation for the house disclosed to the Dáil was in 2013 when it was valued at between €800,000 and €850,000.

A further €112,000 was spent between 2013 and 2023 on upgrading the property, including window refurbishment, works on gravel paths and repairs to the garden wall and brick paving.

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The records, released in response to a parliamentary question, show Mr Varadkar stayed in the house on 13 occasions in 2018, twice in 2019 and for 100 nights in 2020. His stay in 2020 included two stints during the Covid pandemic. His use of it became known when he was photographed socialising in the Phoenix Park in May 2020.

Mr Varadkar again stayed in the lodge for three nights over Christmas 2022, just as he was taking over his rotation of taoiseach from Mr Martin. He did not stay at the lodge in 2023 or in 2024.

Mr Martin has never stayed in the lodge during his two periods as Taoiseach. Similarly, Mr Harris did not stay overnight at the residence when head of government between March 2024 and January 2025.

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, who submitted parliamentary questions on this matter, said it was scandalous that a house such as this is being left vacant during a housing crisis.

“It is incredible that, despite the severity of the crisis [for] so many families, the Government has allowed many State buildings to remain empty.

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“It’s breathtaking to think that a taoiseach could be so tone deaf as to allow a home provided to him to remain empty for the last three years, while 15,300 people are currently homeless. The contrast between the ruling class and many of our homeless citizens could not be clearer,” he said.

A Government source said, however, that Mr Martin has deliberately not stayed there because every stay would have led to additional costs for the taxpayer in the form of the staff required.

Mr Tóibín has also highlighted the substantial fall in the number of foreign dignitaries and delegations who stay in the main residence in Farmleigh house, formerly the home of the Guinness brewing family in Dublin. On average, that house is now used only twice a year.

The more modest Steward’s Lodge contains two downstairs reception rooms, four bedrooms, a kitchen, a small study and a conservatory. To avoid a benefit in kind, taoisigh who use the house pay a €50 overnight fee.

Day-to-day expenditure on Steward’s Lodge, including general maintenance, cleaning and repairs, is not listed separately by the Office of Public Works, which manages the State’s properties.

In a reply to a question in 2018, then minister for public expenditure Paschal Donohoe said the cost associated with servicing Steward’s Lodge amounted to no more than €500 annually.

The house became an official residence when Bertie Ahern was taoiseach, although he never stayed there. His successors Brian Cowen and Enda Kenny stayed in the house periodically, with the former staying there for 15 nights during his time as taoiseach between 2008 and 2011.

The cost of running the entire Farmleigh Estate was just under €4 million in 2023 and again in 2024.