PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I compliment him on the passion he shows for his role, which is clear for all to see. As Fine Gael’s spokesperson on biodiversity and heritage in the Seanad and as a lover of the natural world, I truly believe that the importance of national parks is not to be underestimated.

Approximately 1.4% of Ireland’s total land mass falls within our seven current functioning national parks. That is a total area of 98,436 ha. By European standards, this is a relatively small proportion of our land mass. However, our seven functioning national parks cover and protect a huge and diverse range of landscapes, terrain, flora and fauna. Within our seven national parks we have 25 species of mammal, 400 bird species, in excess of 12,000 insect species and more than 4,000 plant species. The 15,484 ha of Glenveagh National Park in Donegal support a number of important habitat types, ranging from pristine rivers and lakes to some of the highest mountain peaks in the country. This park is home to a number of plant and animal species of national and international importance and hosts some of our best habitat areas for species such as arctic alpines, mosses, liver worts, golden plovers, peregrine falcons and a large number of rare orchid species.

Wild Nephin National Park in Mayo, which becomes Mayo Dark Sky Park at night, covers 15,000 ha of unspoiled wilderness and is Ireland’s largest area without human inhabitants. With one of the last intact active blanket bog systems in western Europe, this very special park forms an important habitat for a number of rare species of flora and fauna such as Greenland white-fronted geese, red grouse and otters. This park also showcases some of the darkest, most pristine night skies in the world and is officially certified as a gold-tier-standard international dark sky park.

In my home county of Galway, we have the 2,000 ha Connemara National Park. Located within the magnificent Twelve Bens mountain range, this park is a haven for hill walkers who visit from all over the world. Connemara National Park is an integral member of the Irish Native Rare Breed Society and has dedicated great effort to the promotion and protection of domesticated livestock such as Connemara ponies, moiled cows, cladoir sheep, Galway sheep and old Irish goats. This is very important conservation work indeed and work we must support and facilitate in every way.

At my back door is the Burren National Park in north Clare and south Galway. This 1,800 ha park sits within Ireland’s most unique landscape.The limestone pavement of the Burren is Europe's largest and most magnificent karst landscape and a place I am very proud and happy to call my home. The landscape of the Burren has been home to people for millennia, with successive generations leaving the marks of their culture, traditions and agriculture on the landscape. Prehistoric monuments dot the landscape in this area, as well as the stone structures from our more recent past and the many thousands of kilometres of stone walls that frame the rare wildflower meadows in this region. I have on a number of occasions in the past in this House expressed my extreme concern about the disappearance of our stone walls in the west of Ireland. We have some very flawed regulations within some of our Department of agriculture environmental schemes that in many areas prohibit the maintenance of stone walls and financially reward the complete removal of neglected stone walls for their replacement with hedges. This is something I intend to address further in the House in the coming weeks.

Further south is the world famous Killarney National Park with its 10,000 ha of rugged beauty from the high peaks of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks to the lakes of Killarney. As well as the stunning beauty of the landscape, this park is home to the last surviving indigenous herd of Irish red deer. All other herds in the country descend from deer stock introduced into the country in the past. The Reenadinna Woods, which is western Europe's largest area of yew woodland, together with vast areas of flat peatlands, deciduous forests and grassland, form not only a great spectacle for the tourists, which is very important, but is also a vital habitat for so many of our indigenous species that must be treasured.

Moving to the Acting Chairperson's own county, the Wicklow Mountains National Park is our only functioning national park located on the eastern side of the country and is our largest national park. This 23,000 ha park, which is located on the doorstep of our capital city, offers walking and hiking opportunities as well as a chance for Dublin people to escape the urban world. This park has stunning beauty with lakes, woodlands and valleys, as well as St. Kevin's monastic settlement at Glendalough. After many decades of absence from Irish skies, the red kite is now a common sight again over the Wicklow national park. This reintroduction project has been one of the real success stories of raptor reintroduction into Ireland in recent years.

Our seventh national park, Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí, is situated both onshore and offshore at the Dingle peninsula. This park includes some of our most iconic islands, marine reefs and maritime sites. Vulnerable habitats for seabirds, wintering water birds, whales and dolphins are protected within this national park, as well as the world famous Sceilg Mhichíl and its ancient monastic settlement.

All of these parks form the jewels in the crown that is the Irish countryside. They fall under the protection of the National Parks and Wildlife Services. While I may not always agree with everything this State body does in terms of the suppression of the tradition of cutting turf in many of our smaller bogs, I compliment the NPWS on the management of our eight magnificent national parks. I also compliment the Minister of State on the increased funding that he has secured for the management of our national parks.