Skip to main content
Normal View

Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 3 Feb 1999

Vol. 499 No. 4

Written Answers. - Visitor Centres.

Trevor Sargent

Question:

148 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands her views on the appropriateness on environmental grounds and the economic sustainability of visitor interpretative facilities in areas of outstanding natural beauty including the Gortlecka Mullaghmore district in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27440/98]

In providing facilities in any scenic or ecologically sensitive area, a balance must be achieved between the avoidance of excessive interference with or intrusion to the area and environment in question, and the need to effectively manage the numbers that are inevitably attracted there. The facility now proposed for Mullaghmore is a very limited one, comprising a covered waiting area, toilets, ranger accommodation, ancillary parking, storage area and signage.

I believe that what is proposed is a reasonable response to providing facilities for students, tourists, and those involved in physical activities, and that due to its limited scale, materials, and nature, it will not be obtrusive on the landscape or give rise to damage to colonies of important flora or important ecological communities.

Top
Share