Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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262. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the costs related to the removal of one hectare of rhododendron in Ireland’s national parks that are managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12249/22]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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The National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department has a long standing and ongoing practice of invasive species management.  In particular, Rhododendron management has been a feature of work practices in Killarney National Park since the 1980s.

In 2021, my Department allocated more than €1.3m for invasive species removal across 15 of our sites in the parks and reserves network, with close to €500k allocated to the Southern Division for works at Killarney National Park and Glengarriff Nature Reserve.

The cost of removal of rhododendron per hectare varies according to local conditions (density, age and growth of plant, accessibility and location etc).  €2,457 per hectare would be a reasonable estimate.