Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

As the Senator is aware, the national parks and wildlife service of my Department is trying to resolve the issue of horse dung in Killarney National Park by requiring that jaunting cars must be equipped with dung-catching devices when entering the park. The horse dung on the roads in the park is unsightly and smelly, is at odds with the national park ethos, conflicts with the beautiful landscape and is unattractive to tourists. It also is a health and safety issue because it can cause dangerous underfoot conditions for path users, including people on bicycles, and could also give rise to cross-contamination, for example, from shoes or children's buggies bringing dung into family cars, the Muckross restaurant and so on.

The national parks and wildlife service manages the park for the enjoyment and benefit of all. Jarveys benefit financially from their utilisation of the park. The Department believes it is entirely reasonable that those who are responsible for the soiling of the roads in the park should co-operate in minimising the degradation of the environment of the park for others and should not expect the taxpayer to foot the bill for cleaning up after them.

There has been a long process of consultations with the jarveys for approximately two years. A process of practical trialling of the devices has been carried out and repeated demonstrations of the device have been provided by the NPWS. These demonstrations, backed up by expert equine and veterinary advice, show the dung catchers do work and are safe to use. The national parks and wildlife service has made its experts available for discussion and consultation during the process but this has not been availed of by the jarveys who have not engaged in any meaningful way on this issue.

This matter is currently the subject of a High Court judicial review case being brought by the jarveys. Last July, the High Court ruled against an injunction application by the jarveys seeking to restrain the national parks and wildlife service from prohibiting access by them to the park for not using the devices. Following that High Court ruling, in an attempt to advance matters in a peaceful way the NPWS decided to allow the jarveys back into the park and proposed the use of an independent facilitator to facilitate the introduction of dung catchers. The NPWS experienced further delays in trying to put such facilitation in place and in the event, when the facilitator finally managed to initiate the process in mid-September 2009, he advised the NPWS that he could not advance matters as the jarveys would not engage with him. This was a most regrettable turn of events for all concerned.

The NPWS has at all times been more than reasonable and patient in its dealings with the jarveys. At this stage, in the face of non co-operation and in the wider public interest, the NPWS has once again been left with little option but to implement the requirement that dung catchers must be used on jaunting carts. While NPWS could have done this in July following the jarveys' failed High Court action it did not to do so at the time and waited until towards the end of the visitor season to minimise any implications it might have for the jarveys.

I reiterate that the decision to require dung catchers was taken after a long period of effort, consultation and investigation on the part of the NPWS and the jarveys have had more than ample opportunity to engage in the process but have chosen not to do so. The NPWS is obliged under statute to manage the national park and this obligation has already been affirmed by the High Court. The matter is now before the High Court again for judicial review and in all the circumstances there is no merit in revisiting all the previously discussed issues anew through further layers of mediation. The NPWS has received much support for its actions in dealing with this issue locally, including from the trustees of Muckross House.

In conclusion, it is not the NPWS that excluded the jarveys from the park but rather it is the jarveys who have taken the deliberate decision to exclude themselves by their non co-operation in using this safe and internationally successful device, which is being offered free of charge to them and which would improve the environment of the park for all. Now that we are into the quiet tourism period, I call for co-operation from the jarveys and I appeal to them that they use this time to accustom their horses to the devices and so that we move forward in co-operation to the mutual benefit of all.