Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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601. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the details of NPWS works for areas (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31093/21]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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The area around Liffey Head was traditionally hand cut by tenants of the Powerscourt Estate. Following the construction of the Military Road cutting by locals increased. The most significant and impactful draining and cutting of the blanket bog took place during times of crisis namely during “The Emergency” of the 1940’s and the oil crisis of the 1980’s and finally in 1986 an area of intact blanket bog was dug with drains in preparation to cut turf. This raised increased concerns for the future of the bogland habitat and the impact the degraded blanket bog could have on the water quality supplying Dublin. The area came into State ownership in 1989.

Drain blocking works to stop the degradation of the bog was started by National Parks and Wildlife Service in 1993 and continued until 1997.

From 1993 to 1995, drains at Liffey Head to the east of the Military Road were blocked by machine. In the more sensitive areas, close to bog pools, these were blocked by hand. Damming methodology, machines and tools used were all trial and error as there had been little or no similar projects carried out in Ireland at this time.

In 1995 and 1996 the drain-blocking extended across the road from Liffey Head bridge to the lower slopes of Kippure.

In 1997 handmade dams were constructed on smaller drains to the Kippure site and repairs made to the original, poorly constructed dams to the east of the road.

Rehabilition work affected approximately 100 hectares and cost circa £45,000.

The Wicklow Mountains National Park Management plan 2005-2009 listed the following as actions:

Installation of silt traps, management plans for Shranamuck to the west and for Liffey Head to the east, continuation of conservation works, the monitoring and repair of dams and liaison with remaining turf cutters.

In 2016 the last turf cutter was moved away from the area to cut turf in a less sensitive area and monitoring of the site is ongoing.

To date management plans for Shranamuck and The Liffey Head bog have not been drawn up.