[ESS] Debian/Ubuntu packages of a recent version of ess?

[Douglas Bates]

Is there a repository from which I can install a recent version of ess
as a Debian/Ubuntu package for amd_64?  On the Ubuntu list of packages
the released version of ess for hardy is 5.3.0-1 which seems, well,
ancient.  I see that there is a 5.3.8 version from the SVN sources for
intrepid but IIRC trying to install that bring you into all the fun
with pinning, etc.

It seems there is a binary debian package in the download site for the
ess sources but that is for the i386 architecture and I think one
would need to override the architecture to install that one.

Would it be possible to add ess to the list of Debian/Ubuntu packages
that are available on the CRAN archive?  I got the impression that it
might already be but I don't see it there.