Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 July 2023
13. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the engagement he has had with the stakeholders of a local amenity (details supplied) to develop this area as a national park; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33083/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Gearagh is a magnificent place. It is the remains of a post-glacial alluvial rainforest formed after the last ice age, and it was flooded again more recently as part of the hydro scheme in the 1950s. It attracts wildlife, including travelling and migrating birds, from all over. It is a magnificent place in Macroom, County Cork. What efforts can be made to designate it as a national park, enhance its status and recognise it as the magnificent place it is?
The Gearagh, as the Deputy mentioned, is a privately owned site and has not been considered for national park status. My Department does not own or manage any part of this special area of conservation, SAC, which is owned largely by the ESB. A management plan scoping exercise was undertaken by ESB International on behalf of the ESB in 2016 and 2017. The National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, of my Department took part in the stakeholder group that contributed to the report produced as a result of that exercise. The ESB is now in the early stages of compiling a draft management plan for the site. As part of the process, it recently consulted with NPWS staff in County Cork.
The NPWS completed and published detailed site-specific conservation objectives for the Gearagh SAC in September 2016. Under the habitats directive, Ireland is obliged to report to the EU on the conservation status of all habitats and species of European Community interest, as listed in annexes to the directive. Monitoring of SACs is carried out by the NPWS on a cyclical basis. The most recent report was submitted to the EU in 2019 and is available on the NPWS website.
The priority habitat of alluvial forests with alder and ash is one of the qualifying interests of the Gearagh SAC and a monitoring site for this habitat is located within the SAC. It was most recently surveyed during the 2017 and 2018 monitoring period, when the area, structures, functions and future prospects of the habitat in the SAC were all assessed as favourable. This is in contrast with the national conservation status of alluvial forest habitat in Ireland, which is considered to be bad, and deteriorating. The Gearagh SAC is also listed as a habitat of rivers with muddy banks. In addition to the NPWS survey, results of a 2018 botanical survey were made available to the NPWS by the ESB. The habitat was assessed as favourable in the Gearagh SAC. The NPWS continues to engage with the ESB on the monitoring of this site. The positive findings from scientific surveys are indicators of a good management regime.
The ESB is the primary owner of the site. Over the years, the electricity generated there has diminished as a proportion of the electricity used in the country. The need for the ESB scheme from an electricity point of view has declined. This wonderful park right beside Macroom town draws in wildlife, including migrating birds. We had a special visitor again earlier this year and that, in turn, drew a great many people to the Gearagh. This is a double-edged sword because the more that people know about the area, the more who will be attracted to visit it, which creates a threat that it will be damaged. A great many people do not know the place and when they arrive on the site there is little information provided. There is an understanding locally that the ESB does not encourage interest in the site, make people aware of it or put up signage. There is so much that could be done practically on the ground to give people information and promote the place ahead of it securing status as a national park.
The Deputy has made constructive comments. As he is aware, the NPWS is engaging with the ESB on the monitoring of the site. There have been positive findings in scientific surveys. I undertake to ask the NPWS to engage with the ESB in order to address the particular issues the Deputy has raised, which are very reasonable requests, on the basis that the electricity output from this site is reducing. The Deputy has made a very good suggestion, so we will ask the NPWS, which is part of the Department, to broaden its engagement with the ESB on this particular site, with a view to broadening its appeal as regards public use.
To return to the issue of national park status, in terms of size, County Cork represents one eighth of the country, yet it has no national park. There is a huge, amazing landscape right along the valley, whether it is Gougane Barra or globally known places such as Blarney Castle further down the valley, and there is no national park anywhere in this large area. That surely strengthens the case for the general Cork area to have a national park, especially when we have a place of such quality and status as the Gearagh. The Minister of State indicated that it is an SAC and enjoys certain status and outlined the efforts to enhance its status. The possibility of having a national park in the area needs to be examined.
I support Deputy Aindrias Moynihan. The Gearagh is a magical place. While it is only up the road from Clonakilty, it takes me about an hour to get there. I was lucky enough to see the penduline tits there. What is a penduline tit says you? The first penduline tit ever recorded in Ireland landed in the Gearagh last year. An incredibly rare Eurasian bittern was also found there. The Deputy is right; the Gearagh is a Mecca for rare migrating birds and a perfect habitat for them. When the water is at a certain level it creates a lovely shore which attracts thousands of wading birds during the winter months in particular. There are also marshy areas, lagoons and reed beds and it is perfectly designed because it an old road with a few humpback bridges runs right through the middle of it. The Gearagh is perfectly designed for visitors to visit and view wildlife and to become a national park and nature reserve. I fully support Deputy Moynihan's call.
By way of a structured approach, as I have said, the NPWS is engaging with the ESB and there were positive findings from the scientific surveys. To move the matter forward, we have asked the NPWS to continue to engage with the ESB. Maybe we could set up a meeting between the Deputy and the assistant secretary in the Department with responsibility for heritage to see what can be done in terms of a structured approach.
On national park status, there is a process involved but the ESB has done some significant and positive initial work on the site. The question now is what the approach will be from here on. I undertake to set up a meeting with the assistant secretary in the Department to put a framework in place around what the Deputy is requesting.
