Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)

6 o’clock

I congratulate Deputy Cahill on his appointment. He is a very fine ambassador for the tourism sector not just in Kerry but across the country. I wish him well on that. I heard him raise it this morning with the Tánaiste during Questions on Policy or Legislation.

First, to briefly put context on it, the Office of Public Works conserves and manages Ireland’s national heritage estate, which comprises 780 national monuments and 32 national historic properties, with over 5,000 acres of designed landscapes and parks. This estate includes two UNESCO world heritage sites, namely, Sceilg Mhichíl in County Kerry and the Brú na Bóinne complex comprising Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth in County Meath. In 2024, over 16 million people attended and visited OPW-managed heritage sites to explore and enjoy Ireland’s iconic heritage sites such as Clonmacnoise, the Rock of Cashel, Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol, the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland and Kilkenny Castle.

As Members will be aware, Sceilg Mhichíl is situated 16 km off the coast of Kerry. It was founded by St. Fionán around the sixth century and is the home of an early monastic site. The monastery came into State care in 1880. The OPW manages the island and conserves the built heritage of the island, including the monastic site.

The OPW has been managing visitor access to the island for decades and has a detailed management plan and operating procedures relating to visitors. Due to severe sea conditions, the island cannot be accessed during the winter. The visitor season, as Deputy Cahill has alluded to, generally begins around mid-May and runs to late September each year and the OPW staff are present on the island at all times during this period. Access to the island is highly dependent on weather and sea conditions and there are days in every season when visitors cannot land due to unsuitable weather or maritime conditions.

The OPW, together with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, published a ten-year Sceilg Mhichíl management plan for 2020 to 2030 which sets out the State’s approach to managing and conserving the built and natural heritage of the island and ensures sustainable access for visitors to enjoy the outstanding universal value of this unique world heritage property. There are over 90 actions in the plan and it is in this context visitor access and numbers to the island are strictly managed.

Access to the island is regulated by limiting the number of boatmen who are permitted to land passengers at the island during the visitor season. The established number allowed is 15 boats. A boat permit system was originally introduced to improve health and safety on the journey to and during visitation to the island after the deaths of two visitors to Sceilg Mhichíl in 2009. The OPW’s approach is to sustainably manage visitor activity to the island in line with the agreed UNESCO policy and visitor management plan.

I can advise Deputy Cahill that the OPW does not make any profit from the operation of the boat permit system. The OPW does not receive any income from this and does not charge visitors to visit the island, nor does the OPW get involved in the setting of prices for the boat trip to the island as it is considered the prerogative of permit holders to set their own prices. I would like to think that the OPW enjoys a strong working relationship with the boat permit holders, as well as recognising and sharing the same goal - to showcase the island at its best while at the same time making sure that we are protecting its special qualities for the next generation.

The season is due to commence on 10 May and it will run until 29 September. Last year, 15,800 people visited the island, with numbers limited to 180 per day in order to sustainably manage and conserve the delicate archaeological remains as well as the diverse flora and fauna of the island. Regarding this current competition, under European procurement rules the compliant procurement process for this competition was an open competition via eTenders. It is awarded for a five-year period, to be renewed on a yearly basis but subject to adherence to terms and conditions. The volume of applications exceeded the number of permits available and I can only acknowledge the disappointment felt by some at the outcome of the competition.

As publicly reported, the results of the permits competition are now the subject of legal proceedings. As such, I cannot comment further on the current competition to award boat permits but I do understand the Deputy's concerns.

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