Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 19 Feb 1997

Vol. 475 No. 2

Written Answers. - State-Owned Land.

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

74 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the reason no advertisements appeared in the national press seeking public submission in relation to a proposed land swap involving lands within the Killarney National Park, County Kerry and land in the ownership of the developers of a proposed private golf course. [4678/97]

Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht (Mr. M. Higgins)

A proposal has been made to the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department by the Castlerosse Hotel Limited, to swap 22.7 acres of State-owned land in Killarney National Park adjoining Knockreer in exchange for 23.4 acres of privately owned woodland in the area for inclusion in Killarney National Park. I understand that the Castlerosse Hotel require the land for the construction of part of a proposed new golf course.

A display has been mounted in Killarney in order to facilitate public consideration of the matter. The NPWS wrote to various interest groups asking them to contribute to this display so that a variety of views should be available to stimulate public discussion.

It should be noted that this is simply the first step in obtaining views on the matter. It was felt that the particular details of the proposal would be best understood by local groups and individuals who would be familiar with the area in question and in a position to provide a cross section of views. For this reason the advertisement seeking submissions was concentrated in local newspapers in County Kerry.

All local Deputies have been sent copies of the documents on display and asked for their views. The views of broader national groups have not been neglected however. An Taisce was invited to submit its comments for the public display in Killarney and the NPWS has written to the Heritage Council seeking its views on the proposal.