Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 June 2025
15. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 256 of 19 March 2025, he will set out the steps that have been taken to date to implement the Programme for Government to introduce a new management system for the Curragh Plains; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34604/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra16. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if, having regard to the expeditious manner in which he and his Department dispersed earlier encampments this year on the Curragh Plains, his Department will move with equal alacrity to seek the removal of the current very large illegal encampment now relocated to the Rathbride Road, including a number of vehicles, caravans, and campervans with French registrations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34605/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra17. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the total cost incurred by his Department from 2020 in clean-ups of the Curagh Plains following illegal encampments; any legal costs incurred; for an indication of the man hours required to deal with the situation on the part of employees of the Department of Defence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34606/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 16 and 17 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Curragh, as State land vested in the Minister for Defence, is recognised as a working environment for the state's Defence Forces as well as being a place of historical and cultural importance. At approximately 4,870 acres, the Plains represent one of the most open and accessible areas in the country. This has presented a number of challenges for management around illegal camping and illegal dumping particularly in recent years.
Since last October, through the Chief State Solicitor’s Office, we have instructed a private security firm to serve Notices to Quit on the trespassers and this has been implemented on several occasions since the first instance of trespass in March 2025. Officials from my Department have progressed legal avenues to address these illegal encampments. As a result, a High Court Order was secured ordering the inhabitants of the encampment to leave the location by 1pm on 27 June, and this notice was served to the relevant people on the evening of 25 June.
In terms of addressing these challenges in the longer term, as the Deputy will be aware, the project undertaken by my Department in co-operation with Kildare County Council on the Curragh Conservation Management Plan was completed at the end of 2024.
The Conservation Management Plan report identified a number of measures for consideration, including a recommendation for a review of the Curragh Bye-Laws and the Curragh of Kildare Act, with a view to identifying possible amendments that could potentially provide more effective solutions to the issues of illegal encampments and other anti-social behaviour. The Plan also recommends considering transferring responsibility for the Curragh from the Department of Defence to a new or existing agency that has more expertise in the field of nature conservation and heritage management, so that the full potential of the Curragh as a social amenity can be realised.
I am fully committed to pursuing a modern and sustainable regulatory model in managing the historically important landscape that is the Curragh and this is reflected by the inclusion in the Programme for Government to progress the transfer of responsibility for the Curragh to an appropriate agency with relevant expertise. Work on this matter is ongoing.
