Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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846. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will make land available in the vicinity of Muckross Abbey for a public burial ground for Killarney in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5703/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Ensuring the adequate provision of Burial Grounds for their functional areas is a matter for the relevant local authority, in this case Kerry County Council. The powers and duties of local authorities regarding Burial Grounds are provided for by the Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878, as amended by the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1948 and the Local Government Act 1994. Detailed regulations are made through the Rules and Regulations for the Regulation of Burial Grounds 1888 (as amended). I understand that the Deputy is referring to land which falls within the Killarney National Park, and specifically within the Bourn Vincent Memorial Park. The use and transfer of land and property within the Bourn Vincent Memorial Park is, under the Bourn Vincent Memorial Act 1932 (as amended) and the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015, a matter for my Department.

The Bourn Vincent Memorial Park was formed out of those parts of the Muckross Estate gifted to the State in 1932 by Senator Arthur Rose Vincent, and William Bowers Bourn and Agnes M. Bourn. A condition of the gift was that the land and properties transferred to the State should be used for the purpose of forming a National Park, and accordingly this is provided for in legislation through section 5(1) of the Bourn Vincent Memorial Act 1932.

The totality of Killarney National Park is managed by my Department as a Category II protected area (i.e. as a National Park) in accordance with guidelines set down by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Moreover, the Park is subject to a number of significant EU environmental designations, including encompassing part of a Special Area of Conservation under the Habitats Directive 1992 and a Special Protection Area under the Birds Directive 1979.

In light of the above and of the statutory obligations contained in the Bourn Vincent Memorial Act 1932 to use the land gifted to the State as National Park, it is appropriate that any development in an area designated as a National Park, a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area should be limited to what would enhance the conservation status of the area or to necessary works for which no alternative location is possible.