Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is no better advocate for the Curragh than my good friend and colleague, Senator O’Loughlin, whom I thank for raising this matter. We hear so much about the Curragh on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. It is fantastic to hear the Senator advocate so well for Kildare’s jewel in the crown, as she put it.

The Curragh’s unique area of approximately 5,000 acres of predominantly lowland acid grassland, succeeding to dry heath in areas and that has been unploughed, unfertilised and grazed for hundreds or even thousands of years. The management of the area has resulted in nationally important populations of rare fungi, only found in ancient undisturbed grasslands. Golden plover and lapwing utilise the open expanses of the site in winter, and skylark and meadow pipit are found breeding in ungrazed areas of the site. There are breeding peregrine falcon sites adjacent that hunt over the Curragh. The flora and fauna offer something to behold.

The glacially deposited overburden above the limestone bedrock geology is very thick and forms the mid-Kildare or Curragh Aquifer that in turn, provides the principal discharges supplying the nearby Pollardstown Fen SAC. The Curragh Plains is of course also a working environment, as Senator O'Loughlin has said, for the Defence Forces. The site is vested in the Department of Defence under the Curragh of Kildare Act 1961 and 1969, with leases and licences to various other bodies and organisations. I am aware that the Department of Defence in collaboration with Kildare County Council, underwent a public consultation on the future management and development of the Curragh Plains in 2021 and 2022.The basic designation for wildlife in Ireland is the natural heritage area. These are areas which are considered important for the habitats present or which hold species of plants and animals whose habitat needs protection. The Curragh in County Kildare, site code 000392, is one such of these proposed natural heritage areas. There are 632 proposed natural heritage areas, including the Curragh. While a review of these sites is foreseen, the current focus of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is on fulfilling Ireland’s obligations under the EU habitats and birds directives and the designation of Natura 2000 sites, that is specific areas of conservation and specific protection areas. Although proposed natural heritage area sites are not subject to the protection provisions of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000, it is really important to note that they may be recognised in local authority development plans, as the Curragh is in the Kildare county plan.

I will conclude by touching on what was said about illegal encampments. Illegal dumping is an absolute blight on all communities and all beautiful wooded areas like the Curragh all over the country. It is a huge issue. It is frustrating at times that local authorities have to spend such amounts of money on cleaning up. I am disappointed to hear that the fourth and fifth greens in the golf club were destroyed at a huge cost. At a time when we are encouraging people to get out, be active and do the best for their own well-being and mental health, it is absolutely abhorrent to see behaviour like that.