Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Mary Butler, and thank her for being here. Is é an chéad cainteoir anois ná an Seanadóir Fiona O'Loughlin. Tá ceithre nóiméad aici. Gabhaim buíochas léi.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I appreciate this is outside of her remit and I am disappointed that Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, is not here. His mother is from just outside the area in Kildare, so he has a knowledge of the area. I do appreciate that Deputy Butler is here. The Minister of State has indeed heard me speak often about the Curragh, and about the mythology and the folklore that is associated with it. In particular, I have spoken about Brigid and of course, we have Brigid 1500 this year, as well as our new national bank holiday in honour of a woman, which is a great thing. It is one that we all get to celebrate.

The Curragh is absolutely the jewel in the Kildare crown. We Lilywhites are very proud of it. It is a 5,000 acre piece of land that is under the care and protection of the Department of Defence. The Army base there is very much a part of the Curragh and of Kildare. It is considered to be the oldest and most extensive tract of land in Europe. It provides the setting for one of Ireland’s most significant prehistoric landscapes.

The Curragh is also home to the racing industry. While we have the Curragh racecourse, we also have many trainers and breeders right beside the Curragh. It is something that we feel very strongly about. The unique flora and fauna are also something we feel strongly about, and we have to do everything in our power to protect the Curragh heritage and ecological value. We must ensure that we are utilising it to its full potential. It provides a great amenity area for people in the locality to come to walk, enjoy the fresh air and get to experience the Curragh. It is also of great importance from an archaeological point of view. Local people have a great respect for it and, for this reason, it should have the highest level of protection while at the same time affording the opportunity for people - local, national and international, to enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

For several years, there has been an issue with illegal encampments and illegal dumping. They completely take away from the beauty of the Curragh for those who wish to use it daily. Only last week, the fourth and fifth greens in the Cill Dara Golf Club were ruined. It is going to take thousands of euro to put it back to its proper state. Every year, Kildare County Council pays millions taking the waste away afterwards. It is beyond time we do something about this. The gardaí are doing their best, but they are stymied. We need new by-laws for the Department of Defence. I have been in touch with the Tánaiste’s office to organise a meeting on this.

The Kildare County Council and the Department of Defence have appointed the Paul Hogarth Company, together with other specialist consultants, to undertake a conservation management plan and a branding, wayfinding and interpretation plan for the Curragh Plains. This is really important and we want to see progress in this. The Tánaiste has said that he is prepared to sit down, and we need Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, to sit down also. All of us who are familiar with and look on the Curragh as a jewel, need to see action taking place in all of these areas.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | 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.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | 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.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. I will bring her comments back to the Minister, specifically her belief that there is no urgency and her request for a timeline in relation to the review of these sites that is foreseen. It is important that all the facets of the State come together. I am confident that the Department of Defence, together with Kildare County Council, will continue to work towards addressing the many challenges involved in managing and developing the Curragh Plains and ensuring best practice for the future management and development of the plains. The National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of housing will continue to provide all supports needed to ensure the protection of the important habitats and species at the site.