Brian Cowen has announced his new official Dublin residence will be the Steward's Lodge at Farmleigh in the Phoenix Park.

Recently refurbished at a cost of €600,000 to the tax payer, the estate would command an asking price in the tens of millions due to its unrivalled location and historic associations with the former Guinness family estate.

Formerly the official Irish State Guest House, the estate has been host to many notable visitors, including the Chinese Prime Minister, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, King of Malaysia, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the Governor-General of New Zealand.

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The lodge was purchased by the State along with Farmleigh House in 1999 for €29m.

While the Taoiseach's new Dublin residence is relatively accessible to the public at present via the gravel pathway from Farmleigh House, stringent security measures are expected to be put in place.

A wooden guard booth outside the house's gates, steel security fencing and wall-mounted CCTV cameras are already in evidence at the property.

Mr Cowen's decision to make use of the Steward's Lodge will mark the first time a Taoiseach has used an official residence.

Garda concerns for his security are understood to have precipitated the decision, as Mr Cowen’s use either of the two apartments he already personally owns in Dublin city centre were ruled out.

The Farmleigh house, which includes an opulent Dining room in the style of the famous Louis XVI residence in Paris, a boudoir, library, drawing room, ballroom and even a conservatory, was owned by the fourth Earl Arthur Edward Rory Guinness when sold in 1999, the state spent in the region of €52 million by the time renovations were completed.

(DW)