Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for choosing this Topical Issue because it is very important. I want to acknowledge that the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, is a Trojan worker in his Department and I respect that very much.

Killarney National Park is being neglected and not enough resources are being put into its maintenance and care. I will be glad to give the Minister of State examples of how our national park is suffering from lack of investment. The rhododendrons are taking over completely despite programmes of work over the years to cut them. The deer population has exploded in recent years. The last survey I could find was carried out in 2008 and it showed that, in the previous 30 years, the red deer population had increased by 565% and the sika deer population by 353%. Have any further studies been carried out since 2008 on the deer population and, if not, is there the intention to carry one out in 2017? Despite the reinstating of the nature trails, many of the markers along the trails are missing and the trails need to be upgraded. Knockreer gardens at Knockreer House have suffered years of neglect. Dinah's cottage and the adjacent toilets need to be opened as soon as possible. Most importantly, the number of park rangers has been reduced from nine to four, with two more to retire next year. This is simply not good enough. I want to acknowledge the excellent work that has been done by the park rangers and the work of those such as the groundspersons who were there in the past.

The resource we have is the beautiful national park in Killarney. We all know Killarney is not the tourism capital of Kerry, of Ireland or of Europe; it is the tourism capital of the world. I want to put that on the record of the House. There is no place better in this world than Killarney and its national park.

I acknowledged the Minister of State at the outset. He is not a good politician; he is a Trojan worker and an excellent politician. However, I want him to become a martyr for our national park by ensuring that the resources it requires will be deployed. It is crying out for maintenance. When trees fall in the national park, they are left to rot. I have raised this issue in the Chamber and I have been told it is good for biodiversity to have them rotting on the ground and to have the snails and creepy-crawlies going through them. That is rubbish. We need that timber to be taken out and for the area to be cleaned up. We need to keep the place nice and clean, as the people long ago did before us. Great resources were put into this before but people are now inclined to think that, when it comes to the national park, we can close the gates and let it go and not maintain the deer population or aggressively attack the rhododendrons.

The rhododendron situation in Killarney National Park has become so bad that nothing short of calling in the Army is going to put it right because so many resources are needed to put it in order. The park is a magnificent resource. It is something Killarney people and other Kerry people have prided themselves on over the years. I want to compliment what I would call the conservationists who have stood up for the national park over the years, people like Kevin Tarrant and others from Killarney town who have given a lifetime of commitment to ensuring the national park is preserved for future generations. I plead with the Minister of State to put in place the necessary resources.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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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.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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With regard to Killarney House, I want to acknowledge the late Jackie Healy-Rae, who put Killarney House on the political agenda prior to 2011, when the Minister of State's Government took power. The Minister of State forgot to say that Killarney House is still closed. I was delighted to be there to welcome him when he came to Killarney on the open day when a section of the house opened last year, but it is still closed two years after it was due to open and that is simply not good enough. We want it to be fully open and we want the people to be able to appreciate the money that has been spent there.

I acknowledge greatly the money that has been spent but the Minister of State is dealing with two separate issues. The Minister of State is outlining much of the funding that has been spent on Killarney House. I am talking about the fact that the national park is being neglected. The Minister of State rightly sets out the money that has been spent but we are losing the war on the rhododendron and the deer, which have taken over completely. One has to acknowledge there was great management there in the past. There is great management there at present but it is being starved of adequate resources and it needs more help. We need more men and women on the ground. We need more people working there every day, merely doing the ordinary maintenance. That is all I am asking the Minister of State for.

I ask the Minister of State to recognise that. He knows I am not a blackguard. I would not come in here today to tell him that the national park is being neglected unless it genuinely is. I appreciate the Minister of State's reply asking how can I say this is the case when millions of euro have been spent there. Of course, millions of euro have been spent there - they have been spent on Killarney House and rightly so - but I am talking about maintaining the national park and keeping it as a living, breathing space where parents and their children can go to enjoy the amenities.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge Deputy Michael Healy-Rae's father may have raised the issue, but we have to give the former Minister, Mr. Jimmy Deenihan, credit as well. The former Minister put a lot of work into this and put a lot of funding into it. In fact, I put more funding into Killarney House when I was in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Deputy should not doubt that I will be down in the middle of the year to open Killarney House. Many Governments, over 30 or 40 years, were looking in the window for years and did nothing about it. In fairness, the Government and its predecessor put the funding into it. That house will be opened and it will be superb.

The Deputy must admit it was a tremendous day when we were down there to open the gardens. It was a great community day. The people turned out and they were all asking when would the house be open. I went in to have a look at the house on that occasion and it will be a tremendous asset to the tourism product in Killarney. I look forward to getting down there for the official opening.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae raised the deer issue. We commissioned a report, which has been completed and we will undertake the cull. We have to be sensitive in that regard. We accept there is a problem and that problem is now being dealt with. That is why the cull is taking place and it will be finished by the end of March.

The Deputy also raised in a previous question the shortage of rangers. When I became Minister of State, the national parks had been starved of funding for many years. I have been fighting to get extra funding and got a little additional funding at the end of last year. I also got a commitment from the Government. The Deputy is quite correct that there is a shortage of rangers. The posts have been advertised and eight positions will be filled. In addition, I got a commitment from Government that whoever retires will be replaced plus the eight new rangers. We need many more rangers. The rangers have a wide variety of work to do. They have to cover much of the countryside and it is important to have them there.

We are trying to tackle the rhododendron problem. I note there have been differences in respect of the way this has been dealt with. I am putting out a call today to the community there to talk to the Department's officials. In Britain, the communities come in to the national parks and work with the Government to keep the national parks open. I am calling on the people of Killarney to sit down with the Department to see what support and help they can give to deal with this serious problem in Killarney National Park.