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

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I think it is his first time here since he was elevated and he is very welcome. We look forward to working with him. If I had realised that he was coming into the Chamber today I would have put in a different Commencement matter regarding fair fares for commuters living 50 km outside Dublin, particularly those in Newbridge and Kildare.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

There's always tomorrow.

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

I engaged with him quite a bit over the summer on the NTA's delay in implementing the fair fares and the new agreed structure that is now Government policy. I am quite hopeful that the Minister of State will soon have positive news for us and the commuters who have been dependent on this fare change. I look forward to that happening.

Turning to the meat in the sandwich on the Curragh Plains issue, I appreciate that the Minister of State is extremely familiar with it being an adopted son of County Kildare and living not so far away from the area himself. I am sure he will agree with me that we must do everything in our power to protect and preserve the precious asset that is the Curragh. Over the summer, and the Minister of State will have heard me speak about this issue several times, I have been fighting hard behind the scenes to tackle the perennial issue of illegal encampments on the Curragh Plains. This year, however, has been by far the worst in living memory. There have been several different encampments. At one stage, there were six encampments, with dozens of caravans. One group, from another country, brought its own set of Portaloos, as well as generators. Major damage was caused to the Curragh and to sports facilities, namely, the Cill Dara golf club. Many issues were also caused for local people, whose animals were hurt and damaged walking on the plains. Unfortunately, local residents were intimidated and very scared.

I have been liaising with the Garda, Kildare County Council and the Department of Defence to keep this issue high on the agenda. We must see progress in tackling it. I have also been in regular contact with the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Deputy Micheál Martin, and his senior team, formally and informally, to ensure this issue remains high on his agenda. In correspondence received recently, the Tánaiste confirmed that he wants to ensure we move to a modern and sustainable regulatory model in managing this historically important landscape. I am glad this acceptance has been given. I have been working on trying to get such a model at national level since 2016.

I understand that the Tánaiste expects to receive a final draft of the Curragh consultancy project for review in the coming weeks. I understand as well that this report contains several strong recommendations to deal with this issue in the longer term. The Tánaiste has agreed to a meeting following his receipt of that report. I am confident that the Tánaiste understands the concerns and will play his part in ensuring we will find a solution to this issue and continue to keep pressure on to see the Curragh Plains protected.

As a public representative, however, I believe it is important to raise these very real issues on the floor of the Seanad on behalf of all those who have contacted me in recent weeks and months. Yesterday, we saw the announcement that the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher will be designated world-famous geological sites. This is the second entry because the Giants Causeway was added in 2022. I certainly feel the Curragh would merit being awarded such an honour. The ongoing issues with illegal dumping and encampments on the Curragh completely take away from the beauty of those who wish to use it daily and deter people from using this amenity. Millions of euro have been spent over the last several years in tackling the shocking waste that has been there.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator.

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

I could say much more about this issue but I am very willing to listen to what the Minister of State has to say. I hope he has some positive news for us.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for her Commencement matter. On the first topic she raised, on the fair fares issue, I acknowledge on record the Senator's ongoing advocacy on behalf of the commuters of Kildare South, County Kildare and the wider area. I am very engaged on this issue in working with the Senator and other colleagues. I will not say that I am hoping to have news on this very soon but I am certainly open to scheduling a meeting with the relevant stakeholders, including with the Senator, as soon as next week if that can be done.

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

Great.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I assure the Senator this process is moving forward.I am certainly moving might and main to tackle that issue because I am very aware of it as well.

On the Commencement matter, I tender to the House the apologies of the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence. He is at the United Nations in New York, as colleagues will be aware. The Security Council meets this morning and the Tánaiste is engaged in that business. It is important business abroad, but he did ask me to give his apologies to Senator O'Loughlin and to the House.

The Senator is very familiar with the Curragh. As she knows, it is State land vested in the Minister for Defence, the main occupiers of which are the Defence Forces in the Curragh Camp and the Curragh Racecourse which leases that land from the Department of Defence in turn. Being from the locality, the Senator is very familiar with the lands and is also aware most of them are open and unfenced and are easily accessible. The Curragh itself extends to almost 5,000 acres. It is 4,870 acres and is one of the largest open and accessible areas in the country. The challenge is not to cede that level of accessibility because there are huge positives to having that open tract of land available to the public. Simultaneously and, as the Senator outlined, it leads to issues such as illegal camping and illegal dumping. The challenge is how to balance that open public access to such a wonderful resource while tackling illegal encroachments, which are completely undesirable. Unfortunately, we have seen those encampments illegally established over the summer months. The Department of Defence does not accept that those inhabitants have any right to reside on the Curragh plains. The developments on the Curragh are a source of great anxiety to the various users of the plains. The Department of Defence is working to ensure we move to a modern and sustainable regulatory model in managing this historically important landscape. To this end, officials have engaged extensively on this issue, including a number of meetings with An Garda Síochána, and have received considerable communication from the public. I am sure they have also heard from the Senator given she has been intensively engaged on the matter with stakeholders also.

For the last several years, the Department of Defence has been working in co-operation with Kildare County Council on the Curragh consultancy project, which seeks to develop a suitable future management method to allow the various stakeholders exercise their rights while at the same time allowing public access and encouraging adherence to environmental restrictions. It is that balance between an open public space and those who will unfortunately betray that trust by encroaching upon it in such a way. The consultation process identified a review of the Curragh by-laws and the Curragh of Kildare Act would be timely, with a view to identifying possible amendments that could potentially provide more effective solutions to the issues of illegal encampments, dumping, parking and other illegal activity on the plains. Together with Kildare County Council, the Department has been working to finalise the report arising from this project. It is expected the Tánaiste will receive a final draft of this report for review in the coming weeks. I understand it contains a number of recommendations to deal with these issues in the long term. I also understand that once the report is finalised Department officials will be happy to brief the Senator and other public representatives on the findings of same. The Department is also engaging with the Chief State Solicitor to identify legal avenues that can be pursued to address these encampments in the shorter term.

I thank the Senator again for this question and assure her it is the intention of the Tánaiste to ensure the Curragh plains, as an important element of our shared heritage, are protected from illegal activity in the future. I hope that between the recommendations being worked on by that task force and in the report, along with the more short-term immediate actions being identified through legal advice, this issue is tackled to the satisfaction of the Senator and the Kildare public.

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

I thank the Minister of State for agreeing we would meet possibly as early as next week about the fair fares, which I appreciate.

I thank him for his response on behalf of the Tánaiste. I am heartened by the response in that the Department officials are engaging with the Chief State Solicitor to identify legal avenues that can be pursued to address the illegal encampments in the short term. This is so badly needed. I appreciate also that he said a review of the Curragh by-laws and the Curragh of Kildare Act is timely. I agree. As the Minister of State knows, I introduced a Bill to amend that Act. I have asked the Leader of the Seanad if I could have that timetabled quite soon and hope the Tánaiste would take that on board in terms of what is happening. I appreciate it is his intention to ensure the Curragh plains be protected from activity in future and I welcome that.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. It strikes me that may be an opportunity. I am aware of the Bill she introduced and there may be an opportunity to incorporate into that the amendments needed to progress this matter. Perhaps she will take that up with the Tánaiste's office to discuss scheduling. As we know, the Tánaiste is the custodian and guardian of the Curragh lands pursuant to the Curragh of Kildare Act 1961. He is fully committed to a modern and sustainable regulatory model to manage that historically important domain.

I reiterate in closing that the immediate focus is on finalising the Curragh consultancy report for clarity on long-term solutions while simultaneously working on those legal avenues with the Office of the Chief State Solicitor for short-term remedies, because it is not acceptable to allow this to continue.