Vol. 399 No. 3
61 Mr. Garland asked the Minister for Finance the management functions which he will put in place so as to protect and enhance the wider area surrounding the recently announced National Park in County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Wicklow Mountains National Park will be established with effect from 1 January 1991 on State-owned lands at Glendalough. Lands have also been acquired from the Powerscourt Estate recently and other lands are being transferred to the Office of Public Works by Coillte Teoranta, to be incorporated in the national park in due course. In the meantime these areas will be managed generally for conservation purposes. I have no function in relation to the protection and enhancement of lands outside the national park; this is primarily a matter for the local authority under the Planning Acts.
