Vol. 475 No. 3
1 Miss de Valera asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht his current proposals in relation to the establishment of interpretative centres in view of his promise to bring to fruition the plans for Mullaghmore, County Clare; the amounts paid to consultants in relation to the Wicklow and Burren National Parks; and his views on the value for money received. [4718/97]
In relation to the development at Mullaghmore, the Government decided on 28 March 1995 that the then application for retention and planning permission which had been lodged with Clare County Council was to be withdrawn and a management plan for the greater Burren area was to be prepared and presented for consideration by the public and interested parties. As the Deputy is aware, this resulted in the Burren National Park Study being published and released as a discussion document on 22 February 1996. This study recommended that a network of facilities be provided throughout the north Clare area.
This has resulted in a planning application for an entry point to the Burren National Park being lodged on 24 October 1996 with Clare County Council. This entry point, I emphasise, is not a visitor attraction in its own right but part of a coordinated package of measures which will entail the provision of visitor facilities at the three population centres of Corofin, Kilfenora and Bal-lyvaughan in line with the policies that I have endeavoured to pursue since becoming Minister.
A new visitor facility will be located at Corofin from which the national park will be managed. It is proposed that this facility will comprise an audio-visual show, a graphic interpretative display, a nature study room for school groups, the park management headquarters and support for the Corofin Heritage Centre. As regards Kilfenora, negotiations are well advanced between the National Monuments and Historic Properties Service of my Department and Comhar Conradh na Boirne which operate the Burren Display Centre and I hope these discussions will be fruitful.
As I stated on previous occasions, it is relatively harder to identify how the recommendation made in the Burren National Park Study with regard to interpretation in or around Bally-vaughan might be carried out. That said, however, officials of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department are exploring various options with regard to the interpretation of the Marine-Burren interface.
I have previously indicated to this House that my main objective is to ensure that real and widespread consultation will take place with all interested parties before any decision is made on the siting of such visitor facilities. Each such facility must be considered as a unique project, sited to minimise any adverse environmental impact and to maximise the economic benefits to the local community. Such facilities are best sited in population centres.
As regards the amounts paid to consultants for studies of the Wicklow and Burren National Parks, the Deputy will appreciate that, where a competitive tendering process applies, as is the case in these two instances, it is not the practice to release details of costs. Considering the broad area covered in both studies and the subsequent recommendations made in relation to proposals which will help to develop the social and economic infrastructure of the various locales, these studies are excellent value for money and will prove their worth in the future.
I thank the Minister for his reply. As he pointed out, this House debated the Burren plan and he met a number of deputations from County Clare on this issue. Could the Minister give us a timescale for the implementation of this plan? I agree that consultation is important. Perhaps he could also give us further information on the ongoing discussions with Corofin, Bally-vaughan and Kilfenora because I understand the Office of Public Works visited the Kilfenora Display Centre last week.
The taxpayers should be aware of the costs of these studies. Will the Minister agree that the study carried out by RPS Cairns on the Wicklow National Park seems to be the same as the Killarney park management plan and the Brady Shipman & Martin plan?
I am in the hands of Clare County Council which has requested further information from my Department on an aspect of our application. That information has now been provided. When a decision is taken on that application, we will be able to proceed with the other elements.
There may be a need for further talks in Ballyvaughan and I am assessing the report on the Kilfenora talks. I do not intend to cause undue delay if we can reach agreement on such consultations.
As regards the costs of the studies, if we have learned anything from this saga it is that one cannot ask people to choose between expenditure in the shortest possible time and at the lowest possible figure but at the price of public consultation. One could not put a figure on the value of public co-operation. The difference between the new projects when they come to fruition and what was originally envisaged is that while they will not have the 100 per cent support of everybody, they will have gone as near as possible to achieving a consensus, which is valuable in itself.
It is not appropriate for me to make a comparison between the Wicklow and Killarney studies and others. In a study with ecological, economic and social frameworks, there will necessarily be an overlap. However, I have every confidence that the public got value for money in the Wicklow report.
I had hoped to hear what timescale the Minister envisaged for the implementation of such plans. I understand Clare County Council has sent letters to the Minister but it has not received a reply. Perhaps the Minister could clarify that.
I did.
I was told today that Clare County Council is still awaiting information. Perhaps the Minister could expedite that.
I mentioned the cost of these three reports because we are talking about taxpayers' money, but the Minister was not forthcoming in his reply. It is important for the public to know the costs involved because it seems the reports are the same word for word.
The question is too long.
Does the Minister believe these reports are good value for money when the same views are expressed in each of them?
As regards the Deputy's first question, I remind her of what I said in my reply that the information sought by Clare County Council from my Department on the planning application has been provided. If there have been further express signals, of which the Deputy is aware, since 2 p.m. from Clare County Council to the Department, I will deal with them on my return. On the timescale, there will be no undue delay. If there had been at the very beginning a consideration of the complexity of the issue and a desire to consult properly, we would not now be involved in this process. I will not join the Deputy in casting an aspersion on the consultants' study in Wicklow. I am happy that the public got value for money in that case.
