Long-Awaited Curragh Plains Management Plan Expected Soon

Thursday, 10 October 2024 09:46

By Martin Osborne

The plan, initially developed in 2021 in collaboration with Kildare County Council, has undergone two rounds of public consultation.

A long-awaited conservation management plan for the Curragh Plains is expected to be issued in the coming weeks.

Challenges linked to illegal encampments on the Curragh have caused difficulties for local residents in recent years.

The plan, initially developed in 2021 in collaboration with Kildare County Council, has undergone two rounds of public consultation.

It is anticipated to introduce a more proactive approach to managing the 5,000-acre site.

The new strategy may involve oversight from a different agency, such as the Office of Public Works (OPW) or the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), to ensure better resources and expertise for the preservation of the area.

Fine Gael TD for Kildare South Martin Heydon yesterday attended a meeting with senior officials in the Department of Defence at Leinster House regarding the future management of the Curragh Plains.

He said: "I look forward to its publication. This plan can be the roadmap for a more proactively managed plains, bringing all who use the plains with us, very possibly under the authority of a different agency which could be the OPW, 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."