Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I should also say that when a group of 40 caravans came on Sunday, the neighbouring guesthouse had to cancel all its bookings. People's livelihoods are being impacted. Yesterday, I called for a wider debate about illegal encampments, and not just in the Curragh. They happen across Kildare and every county. I think it is beyond time that we need to do something about it.

In relation to the response that the Minister of State has given, while I acknowledge that the Curragh is included as a proposed natural heritage area along with 631 others, there seems to be no urgency to this. The Minister of State said that "a review of these sites is foreseen", but that is just putting it off ad infinitum. I ask the Minister of State to bring a message back to the Minister, whom she is representing here this morning, that we cannot afford to wait.