Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit chuig an Teach. The Minister of State is welcome. I thank him for accepting the invitation to come here to talk about our national parks. I also join other Senators in paying tribute to his predecessor, Senator Noonan, in his former role as Minister with responsibility for heritage. I also acknowledge the increase in investment that has been brought to bear over the past number of years and what is also planned for the future.

I should say, as per my Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, returns, that my brothers have been involved in some fencing contractual works for the National Parks and Wildlife Service. I just want to put on the record. We now have eight national parks, two of which are to open in the coming period. I ask the Minister of State to give a timeline for the opening of the seventh and eighth parks, Dowth Hall and Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí. I also acknowledge the growth of the workforce in our national parks, particularly is some of the more rural communities. The jobs they provide are hugely important in those communities. A full-time job in the public service, be it in the national parks or elsewhere, is hugely important in an area such as Letterfrack for sustaining a community. That should be acknowledged.

Our national parks have numerous roles. They have a role in education, with school tours and people dropping in to learn about the history of an area. They have a recreational role for hillwalking, for people going for a stroll on a Saturday or Sunday, for active retirement groups and for people to get a breath of fresh air in rural areas. Again, I am used to Letterfrack and Diamond Hill, which is in a beautiful part of the world. Our national parks also have an important role in protecting nature and biodiversity.

The Minister of State's statement refers to the Department having 98,000 ha of national parks. I suppose the ambition is to move to 100,000 ha, which is a nice round figure. I suspect that someone has thought of that. In terms of the additional funding the Department has received, will the Minister of State outline what its plans are? Are their places the Department has an ambition to engage with landowners on?

One issue comes up from time to time, and it would be remiss of me not to raise it when the Minister of State is here, as I have said to regional NPWS staff, is that farmers and others are concerned that the State is in competition with them when it comes to purchasing land. I heard it at Maam Cross mart when I was there last Saturday. It would be remiss of me not to say that there is some concern. To balance that, additional staffing means workers in rural areas are buying from local suppliers. The National Parks and Wildlife Service is a spender in local communities, purchasing various pieces of equipment, etc., for the running of the national parks. That is, however, a concern that comes up from time to time. It comes up at Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association, INHFA, meetings and it also came up before the last election.

Rewilding has grown in popularity in recent years. Some of it is happening naturally and some of it is planned in terms of the reduction in stocking rates. There are many examples outside the national parks in some natural habitats, as well as in special areas of conservation, SACs. On the issue of SACs, when lands located in a SAC or a natural heritage area, NHA, are sold, the new owner is not notified that they are in an SAC or NHA. I do not know how it can be done, but there should be a better way, be it through auctioneers, the Land Registry or whatever. The onus is on landowners to protect the area but they are not notified that their land is within an SAC of NHA. Sometimes the boundary is not quite clear. That should be looked at.