Minister Martin Heydon, Fine Gael TD for Kildare South has said that the conservation management plan for the Curran plains is badly needed to ensure proper management and maintenance of the Curragh Plains.
“The Curragh Plains is an area of rich heritage and historical significance at the heart of South Kildare. It is St. Brigids legacy to us and one we are immensely proud of. However we need to ensure it is managed and maintained for many generations to come.
“Since Simon Coveney was Minister for Defence I have worked to deliver more resources for the management of the Curragh Plains. From the Curragh Forum that I helped establish, came a proposal for an overall conservation management plan for the Curragh. This process is now complete and the report’s publication is imminent.
“Jointly supported by Kildare County Council and the Department of Defence, the report will provide a roadmap for better future management of the Curragh Plains including the establishment of a responsible agency for the long term management of the plains and identifying legislative change that is required to the Curragh of Kildare Act. This is vital in addressing the ongoing challenges faced by many local residents like the multiple illegal encampments that are now a regular feature on the Curragh each summer.
“Following two rounds of public consultation, which thousands of Kildare people participated in, this plan can be the roadmap for a more proactively managed plains, bringing all who use the plains together with us, under the authority of a different agency such as the NPWS or a new body. The management of the plains in the future will require more resources and a specific skillset for managing a very special 5,000 acres of land at the heart of Kildare.
“I will continue to actively fight for those resources and a new approach for everyone who lives near it, who uses it for sport, recreation, work or for those who see it as a really important national asset that needs to be managed better”, concluded Minister Heydon.
