Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. While I agree with him sometimes, I totally disagree with him about Killarney. As far as I am concerned, the No. 1 place in Ireland, in Europe and in the world is a place called Westport in County Mayo. Anytime the Deputy wants to come down on holidays, he is very welcome to do so and he will see what is really happening down there.

I must begin by strongly refuting the position as set out in the Deputy's statement. My Department spent over €2 million in Killarney National Park last year. In fact, the Killarney House project within the park, including the wonderful ornamental gardens I opened last year, will amount to a to an investment of over €8 million in the park, €5.2 million of which I provided through Fáilte Ireland when I was Minister of State with responsibility for tourism and sport. The spend in 2016 represents a large proportion of my Department's overall budget for our six national parks and 80 reserves and reflects our commitment and the value my Department places on the park. My Department continues to manage Killarney National Park in order to abide by the strict criteria and standards for national parks as set by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in 2015.

With regard to the issue of rhododendron, as signalled in my response to the Deputy's recent parliamentary question, my Department has invested heavily in tackling this invasive species, the control of which is difficult, costly and labour intensive. The management of the dynamic and aggressive rhododendron is a long-standing, ongoing programme in the national park. In the past, approximately 3,000 of the 10,000 hectares in the park were, to some extent, affected. My Department remains of the opinion that the existing management programme has made significant inroads into the problem and that approximately 2,000 of the 3,000 hectares are under effective control at some 40 different sites.

Our ongoing programme of works at this time is composed of four elements: the initial clearance and follow-up maintenance work by contractors, ongoing maintenance work by volunteers and students, a rhododendron management contract and ongoing work by National Parks and Wildlife Service staff, including co-ordination, research and monitoring. Since 2011, the Department has invested over €700,000 to tackle rhododendron clearance in Killarney National Park and, in 2016 alone, the Department spent some €209,611 on clearance. An updated strategic rhododendron management plan is being finalised and the Department hopes to publish this in the coming months. In 2015 my Department appointed a specialist for a two-year period to assist the ongoing rhododendron programme.

With regard to deer in Killarney National Park, as part of its regular ongoing management operations the Department may carry out localised annual deer culls on State lands, if required. There is a significant challenge in attempting to balance the demands of agriculture, forestry and conservation with the need to ensure that deer populations occupying the same land resources are managed at sustainable levels and in a responsible and ethical manner. My Department commissioned a comprehensive survey and report in the winter of 2016 on the distribution, population and population structure of red deer and sika deer in the national park. The study found that the total estimated red deer population over the entire study area of 13.64 square kilometres was some 708 deer. On foot of the recent report, staff from my Department are currently undertaking a cull of deer in the national park which will be concluded by the end of March.

In conclusion, my Department continues to manage and invest in Killarney National Park and abides by the strict criteria and standards for national parks as set by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

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