I welcome the Minister of State. I am raising this Commencement matter because we are in May 2026, and the current national cancer strategy, covering 2017 to 2026, is entering its final months. It is essential that we receive a clear update on the development of the next cancer strategy that will guide cancer services over the next decade. I acknowledge the significant progress made under the current strategy. The National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026 has delivered real improvements in prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. There have been improved survival rates, expanded screening programmes, stronger specialist cancer centres, improved access to modern treatments and better multidisciplinary care for patients. There has also been a stronger focus on prevention, early diagnosis, psychological supports and survivorship services. All of these have made a real difference to patients and families across the country. I recognise the work of healthcare professionals and patient advocates who help drive that progress. We are at an important point. Cancer cases are expected to increase significantly in the years ahead because of our ageing and growing population. That is why the strategy covering the next decade is so important. Patients and families was certainty about the future direction of cancer care. Healthcare workers need confidence that workforce planning, infrastructure investment and service expansion are being prioritised now.

I want to highlight the need to address the ongoing inequalities in access to cancer care. While services have improved overall, waiting times and outcomes can still depend too heavily on geography. Postcode inequalities need to be addressed. A major focus of the next strategy must also be diagnostic capacity.

We need sustained investment in MRI, CT and PET scanning services to ensure earlier diagnosis and faster access to treatment. Radiotherapy capacity must remain a priority. The upgrading and replacement of radiotherapy machines are essential if we are to provide modern, timely and safe treatments for patients into the future.

At a recent meeting of the Joint Committee on Health, we discussed ageing equipment and I was stunned by some of what I heard. I reached out afterwards to my community of women in Breast Friends and many confirmed appointments had been cancelled because machines were out of action. If a photocopier in an office became unreliable or was constantly breaking down, it would be replaced immediately. Life-saving machinery should be treated with far greater urgency. Procurement needs significant focus, particularly with regard to how it is operating.

I also highlight the importance of screening and public education. The HPV vaccine has been a game-changer. Laura Brennan's advocacy played a huge role in raising awareness of its importance. I would like to see a renewed catch-up initiative, more education and an increase in further uptake. I continue to support expansion of the BreastCheck age criteria, as outlined in my submission to the national screening advisory committee, NSAC. We need greater awareness of missed appointments and stronger public engagement to encourage attendance.

I acknowledge the calls from the family of Eavan Glynn, who bravely shared his bowel cancer story. Bowel cancer does not just affect people over 50 and awareness of signs and symptoms is critically important. Significant investment has already been made. Since 2017, more than €105 million has been allocated directly to support the national cancer strategy and over 670 staff have been recruited into cancer services. Between 2021 and 2024, 74 cancer drugs received reimbursement approval, with spending exceeding €645 million. Importantly, the current strategy contains 52 recommendations and I understand that 43 have now been implemented. I would welcome an update from the Minister of State on the remaining nine recommendations and the timeline for their delivery.

My ask is very simple. What is the current status of the next national cancer strategy? Has formal work commenced? What consultation process is planned with clinicians, patient groups and Oireachtas Members? When can we expect a framework for cancer services beyond 2026 to come before this House? Cancer touches almost every family in this country so we want to know that we are going to be looked after and that a solid plan is in place.

I thank Senator Costello for raising this important matter. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Health. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the national cancer strategy and I recognise the Senator’s commitment to this topic.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the launch of Ireland’s first national cancer strategy. It is an opportune time to reflect on the progress that has been made since 1996 and to look ahead to how we may build upon what has already been achieved. Research has shown that Ireland's consecutive national cancer strategies have been a significant factor in improving patient outcomes. A study published in the Journal of Cancer Policy just this year lauded Ireland's strategic approach to cancer control as among the highest across the countries examined. Ireland's consecutive national cancer strategies have ensured that international best practice has been adopted where possible and, as a result, they have transformed patient outcomes in cancer care.

Since its launch in 2017, the Government has allocated €105 million to the current national cancer strategy to support cancer services and improve outcomes for patients. This is in addition to over €140 million in capital investment in cancer infrastructure. In the intervening years, very significant progress has been made in improving cancer services and there are now over 220,000 people living with or beyond cancer, 50% more than there were a decade ago. I note the Senator acknowledged that improvements have taken place. Investment under the strategy has also ensured that more patients are being seen in specialist centres, are being reviewed by multidisciplinary teams and are receiving better supports during and after treatment.

The current strategy, which was published in June 2017, contains 52 recommendations. To date, 43 of these have been implemented and the HSE national cancer control programme is continuing to progress the remaining nine. These will continue to drive further reforms and service improvements in this final year of the strategy. I suggest that the Senator write to the Minister directly for an update on the remaining nine recommendations.

Early work on the next national cancer strategy has already begun. An evaluation will first be carried out in collaboration with key stakeholders such as the HSE's national cancer control programme and the National Cancer Registry of Ireland. Other stakeholders include patients and their families, healthcare professionals, Government agencies, research institutions and advocacy groups. These stakeholders will also play a major role in informing the development of the next strategy.

While evaluation of actions to date will inform the direction of the next strategy, opportunities in known emerging areas in cancer control can be and should also be examined. The increasing use of personalised medicine, innovation in data and AI tools and sustainable prevention measures will all likely play a role in the future of cancer control. The Government and the Minister for Health remain committed to a strategic approach to cancer control at a national level and to continuing to build on improvements to services and better outcomes for patients.

The Senator raised CT scans and other issues and they will be brought to the attention of the Minister.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I want to drive home my message about the machinery. As I said, if an office was operating with a photocopier that was not working to the proper standard, it would get rid of it. This is life-saving technology. I want to know what is going on in procurement and I want to be a part of the national cancer strategy. I want to be a part of what is going on. I am a stakeholder. People who are sick or dying are sharing their stories because they know what a harsh illness cancer is. That is why I am so passionate about getting this strategy up and running. We have seven months left and we need to deliver. We need clear timelines regarding when the next ten-year strategy is going to be rolled out. This is not the kind of thing where we can have a break for two months without a strategy in place. Following the meeting of the Joint Committee on Health I mentioned, I will start chasing up the procurement side of this.

I again thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I think she is going to follow up directly with the Minister and the Department of Health about the remaining recommendations and other issues. Forty-three recommendations have been implemented. Successive national cancer strategies have delivered continued improvements in outcomes for Irish cancer patients, as shown by a significant increase in five-year survival rates, from 44% between 1994 and 1998 to 65% between 2014 to 2018.

The upcoming evaluation of the current national cancer strategy provides an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved, identify remaining challenges and ensure that future priorities are informed by evidence, experience and advice from patients and families. The Government remains committed to building on this different investment and progress already made in improving the outcomes for cancer patients in Ireland.

I acknowledge everyone present, in particular Senator Costello. We have a shared commitment to improve the lives of cancer patients. Once again, I thank the Senator for raising this very important issue.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is good to have a Minister of State in the Department taking this important Commencement matter. I acknowledge the significant achievements and improvements that have taken place in primary education in recent years. Free school meals is an inspired programme to ensure every young person has a hot meal once a day. There is also the availability of free schoolbooks. When we were going to school, we bought second-hand books and all sorts of things. Now, the books are available courtesy of the State. It is an initiative that leads to equality. While all of those improvements are welcome, necessary and important, the basics are challenged significantly. Schools across the country are facing increased costs when it comes to essential issues such as cleaning, maintenance, heating and electricity. While in budget 2025 the primary school capitation grant was increased by €24 to €224, it goes no way to meeting the costs schools face daily. The authorities in Sixmilebridge national school in County Clare, a fantastic facility, have been in contract with me. I pay tribute to Gareth Heagney, the principal, and his team of teachers and staff for their wonderful work in that great facility. The problem is they are facing enormous costs. On yearly basis in recent years, they have faced up to a €100,000 budget deficit. While school principals have an obligation to be prudent, to manage financially and to try to balance books, they are not supposed to or expected to, nor should they be, deal with financial crises. He, like many other principals, is dealing with a financial crisis. A €100,000 deficit is very hard to make up. To achieve that, they had to cut their cleaning budget by 60%. We all know how important hygiene and clean schools are. To have to cut the budget by 60% is difficult. They are looking at doing a deep clean over the summer, as many schools do, and the quotes they have received are anything from €25,000 to €40,000, which is unsustainable. I am looking for a significant increase in the capitation fund per student for next year to help Gareth and other principals around the country address these costs and be able to focus on the work they are supposed to be focused on, which is managing a school and ensuring the children get the best education. This extra pressure and stress they are under is eating into their time. They make the students their number one priority so in order to find the headspace and time to deal with this, it has to be done outside of working hours. It puts pressure on boards of management to organise fundraisers and so on. Outside of the need for an immediate increase in the capitation grant, we also need to look at reviewing the capitation structure because if in a particular year, there is a drop of 20 or 30 students in a school, the capitation drops. There needs to be a baseline that the capitation reflects. If there is a sudden drop for a year or two, a school should not suffer financially. The hot school meals, free schoolbooks and other Government initiatives are fantastic but we cannot lose sight of the basics, which is happening now. We need to maintain our schools and keep them clean, lit and heated. I call on the Minister of State to respond positively.

I thank the Senator for the opportunity to outline the capitation issue to the Seanad. I thank him for his ongoing engagement on education issues. He has been in contact with me over many of them. It is important public representatives continue to engage positively in relation to education.

The Government is committed to increasing funding to support schools and the programme for Government commits to increasing capitation funding to schools of all types to ensure schools can meet everyday running costs. As we all know, they are increasing. The commitment builds on the progress made in recent years. The Department secured an extra €39 million in budget 2026 towards increased capitation funding for primary, post-primary and special schools to provide additional financial supports towards their running costs. This will see an increase in the standard capitation rates paid to schools of €50 per pupil for primary schools, from €224 to €274, and of €20 per student for post-primary schools, from €386 to €406. This will also allow for an increase of €20 in capitation rates for urban band one DEIS primary schools, increasing the mainstream primary rate in these schools to €294. The increased capitation rates will also see special schools receiving the same rates of mainstream capitation for young people aged 12 and over as for their peers in mainstream post-primary schools. These increases will take effect from September 2026. The funding will benefit schools around the country in managing their day-to-day running costs. Schools will receive their next capitation payment in June. The increases announced in budget 2026 are in addition to the 12% increases as part of budget 2025. The past three budgets have resulted in an increase in the level of capitation grant rates of almost 50%, 49.7%, or €91 to primary and 28.5%, or €90, to post-primary schools.

The Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education system by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the capitation grant to cater for day-to-day running costs of a school such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general upkeep and the ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. Schools have flexibility to use the capitation fund provided for general running costs and ancillary funding provided for caretaking and secretarial services as a common grant from which the board of management can allocate according to its own priorities except for the employment of relevant secretaries as per Circular 0036/2022. Primary schools with fewer than 60 pupils are paid the capitation rate and the ancillary grants on the basis of having 60 pupils. Enhanced rates are also paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs and Traveller pupils. To ensure that schools are supported to get the best value for money for their spending, the Office of Government Procurement, OGP, frameworks are available to schools for a number of categories including facilities management, managed services, professional services and utilities. Schools are encouraged to avail of the available OGP procurement frameworks. The financial support services unit, FSSU, funded by the Department is an important source of advice and support to schools on financial matters. The Senator mentioned Sixmilebridge and others. It is important that if there are challenges within school communities that they reach out to the unit as a matter of urgency. We are committed to continuing to increase capitation as we have done over the past number of years.

I thank the Minister of State. I have no doubt Sixmilebridge along with many other schools engage with the financial support services unit of the Department. The global point is the increase in capitation is an urgent priority, which is reflected in the Minister of State's answer. Unfortunately, they are going to have to wait until September 2026 to see that from the budget. Perhaps there is a case to introduce an emergency top-up in capitation grants for this year, if possible, but the Department is already running a deficit. The Department needs to examine whether the capitation system and structure we have at the moment are fit for purpose. There are certain standards costs every school has whether it has 60 or 600 pupils such as electricity, maintenance and cleaning. There might be a big school but it only has a small number of pupils. It is just physically big because of the structure.

The Department needs to do a body of work in reviewing the capitation system and seeing if it can be more effective than what is in place at the moment.

The capitation funding is hugely important for school communities. We have, over the past number of years, increased it quite substantially, almost by 50% in some instances at primary and post-primary. We will continue to review that. The grant for the next school year will be paid in the next month and we are getting the funding out to the school communities as early as we can. As all education matters are being reviewed in the context of the budget in October 2026 for 2027, they will get consideration as well but in this year alone, we have a sizeable increase in the capitation both at primary and post-primary. We will be continuing to review that because the Minister, Deputy Naughton and I, from our engagement with the school communities and management bodies, know the challenges that are out there. As the Senator alluded to, we do not have an endless pot of money so we are trying to make sure we address the many challenges we have right across the Department of education and meet the need we have within our education system. We are continuing to do it but we take the point the Senator has raised. I will certainly be reflecting on that with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Naughton, over the next number of months. I again thank the Senator for raising the issue and for his ongoing engagement on education matters.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit.

I welcome back the Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, for coming in to hear this Commencement matter this morning. I am here yet again to speak about something I have spoken about a number of times previously in this House, which is the cessation of the turf-cutting compensation scheme. In particular, I wish to speak about the situation involving the 80 families in my own area of south-east Galway, who have traditionally cut turf on three bogs, namely Barroughter, Ardgraigue and Clonmoylan, who entered into an agreement with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, back in 2011 through this cessation of turf-cutting compensation scheme.

At the time, what these 80 families signed up for was an annual index-linked payment, beginning with €1,500 a year. It was to be an annual payment that was to be in place for up to 15 years or until the NPWS would be in a position to relocate the families to an alternative turf bank, as the bogs they were working on had been deemed special areas of conservation, SACs. Fifteen years later, we have arrived in 2026. These payments have come to an end and the NPWS has not successfully relocated any of the 80 families in question. These families are now in a situation where their turf banks are on SAC raised bogs. Their compensation stream has come to an end and they find themselves with nowhere to legally cut turf. Speaking in this Chamber on 16 December last, I flagged that this was going to come to a head this spring or in the early summer. I called on the Minister to intervene with three potential options: give a derogation to allow these families to return to cut turf on their original family-held turf banks; continue the compensation package; or, as a matter of urgency, in advance of this year's turf-cutting season, to find alternative turf banks for these 80 families. Regrettably, none of the above has happened. Not only that, there has been no communication between the NPWS and these families in the meantime.

The situation we are in now for these families in south-east Galway is that they have empty turf sheds. Fuel prices, as the Minister of State knows, are at an all-time high and the turf-cutting season began last week. Now is the time to have the machines in the bog cutting the turf. Should these 80 families maybe do something that is legally questionable and return to their historic family turf banks, which are now in an SAC area, and cut their turf? Will the NPWS and the Department write to these families to let them know they intend to extend the compensation package for this year and into the future until they are in a position to honour the agreement they made by providing alternative turf banks?

I thank Senator Murphy for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne.

Ireland is endowed with a rich network of peatlands of raised and blanket bogs which are vital for biodiversity, supporting climate and flood mitigation, and importantly are an intrinsic part of our cultural heritage. The EU directive on the conservation of habitats, flora and fauna, commonly known as the habitats directive, requires all member states to select sites for the protection of habitats and species considered threatened in the EU territory. Ireland has achieved this for raised bog habitats by selecting 9% of our original raised bog resource and protecting them as SACs, which the Senator has already referred to, and natural heritage areas, NHAs. The raised bog SACs and NHAs covered by the cessation of turf-cutting compensation scheme are, as such, considered wetland ecosystems of high ecological value. The main threats to their conservation arise from any actions that remove the vegetation, drain water or cause them to dry out. In the case of active raised bogs, a priority habitat under the directive, the average water levels need to be close to the surface for most of the year to survive.

Turf cutting involves the direct removal of peat and the vegetation on top. The associated drainage compromises the hydrological integrity of these protected bogs and lowers the water table. These changes to the bog structure not only result in the loss of the unique raised bog ecology but under certain conditions can influence the hydrology of the bog and its surrounding landscape. The Government has recognised the traditional activity of cutting by citizens for their own domestic use and that these needs must be balanced with the conservation objectives and obligations on the State. The rights of turf cutters are being addressed through compensation under the cessation of turf-cutting compensation scheme, through other incentives and initiatives or through relocation to alternative sites where feasible.

The State has worked collaboratively with turf cutters, contractors and their representatives under the scheme and this has resulted in a cessation of turf cutting on over 85% of the raised bog SACs since 2011. These restrictions are necessary to address issues raised by the European Commission in legal proceedings against Ireland in the European Court of Justice. I thank the turf cutters and contractors who have co-operated with the State and supported the transition from these protected sites.

The cessation of the turf-cutting compensation scheme was established following engagement with stakeholders in 2011 for active domestic turf cutters arising from these restrictions on turf cutting on 53 raised bog SACs and was extended in 2014 to include 36 raised bog NHAs. The scheme comprises a payment of €1,500 per annum, index-linked, for 15 years, or relocation, where feasible, to a non-designated bog, together with a once-off legal agreement payment of €500. While applicants were waiting for relocation sites to be investigated, prepared and developed, they could have opted for the annual payment or opt to receive an annual supply of up to 15 tonnes of cut turf delivered to their homes. No additional relocation sites are expected to be identified at this stage, although a small number of plots are being developed.

Eligible applicants on raised bog SACs where turf cutting ceased in 2011 received their final payment under the 15-year scheme in 2025. Applicants on SACs where turf cutting ceased in 2012 will receive a final payment in 2026. Where turf cutting ceased on the raised bog natural heritage areas at different stages between 2014 and 2017, payments will continue to be made annually with final payments being made from 2028 to 2031.

This scheme has compensated turf cutters for the impact of restrictions on turf cutting on these protected sites. Over a 15-year term it has helped to ensure the conservation of important peatland sites of unique ecological value. The estimated costs of provisional payment over the lifetime of this scheme will reach €96 million.

Other supports operated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and the Department of Social Protection are available to those with older homes or inefficient heating systems and those most at risk of fuel poverty. The cutting of turf and associated turf cutting activities remain a regulated activity in the SACs and NHAs. The National Parks and Wildlife Service has, since the scheme came into operation, successfully restored many of those raised bogs in the SACs and NHAs and that work programme will continue. In his reply, Senator Murphy might indicate whether he has had contact with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in respect of the matters he raised and of the case of the 80 families he addressed in his contribution so that I can arrange for matters to be followed up with the relevant parties.

Yes indeed, my own office has over the past number of months been in touch with both the Minister and the NPWS on the matter on behalf of the 80 families in question in south-east Galway. To a point, I agree with what the Minister of State is saying. This scheme has been very successful for the protection of the peatlands. It just has not been successful for the people on the ground who co-operated with the scheme in good faith. These families co-operated with the scheme in good faith on the clear understanding that a genuine effort would be made to find alternative turf banks for them. The general opinion right across south-east Galway is that the effort made to find relocation turf banks was a very poor box-ticking exercise.

As is the case with so many of our lost rural traditions, 30 years from now young people will ask, "What happened to the tradition of turf cutting? Why did Irish people abandon the age-old tradition of turf cutting in this country?" While our wetland habitats might be threatened, they are not threatened to anywhere near the same extent as an awful lot of our very endangered rural traditions, and I include turf cutting in that. I fear that we will answer future generations by telling them that this Government was involved in the systematic extermination of an age-old tradition, turf cutting, right across rural Ireland. Very often I wonder if it is to appease people who maybe have very little understanding about the difference between the damage being done by cutting turf for a supply in a domestic home on a singular basis as was traditionally done and the industrial-scale peat extraction that was done by the State through Bord na Móna. They have two very different consequences for our wetlands.

I thank Senator Murphy again for bringing this important issue up for discussion, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. I assure Senator Murphy that every effort is made to support individuals who cut turf on protected bogs. The turf cutting scheme has operated for 15 years. The majority of turf cutting sites have accepted compensation and others have consented to the restoration works of the protected raised bog restoration incentive scheme. The turf cutting compensation scheme is a landmark achievement balancing environmental preservation with community support. In its 15-year term, the scheme compensated more than 3,500 active turf cutters through an annual payments index linked to relocation options to ensure energy security. This initiative has also facilitated the conservation of 53 special areas of conservation and 36 national heritage areas, addressing legal action against the State in protecting peatland sites of unique ecological value for future generations. Through the scheme, the National Parks and Wildlife Service demonstrated that significant ecological restoration is possible through fair and sustainable community engagement.

The matters brought up by the Senator today will be brought to the attention of the Minister and the National Parks and Wildlife Service and I suggest he follow up again with the respective parties on this matter in respect of his constituents. The Government will continue to support local peatland communities through schemes such as the peatlands and Natura engagement scheme and other incentives that sustain biodiversity. By investing in the restoration of these protected peatlands we can unlock a multitude of benefits for both society and the environment.

I welcome to the Gallery a group of students and their teachers from the Harold School, Glasthule. They are guests of the Minister, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. As is customary in Seanad Éireann, there will be no homework for the students today. I hope they really enjoy their visit to Leinster House.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and thank him for being here to take this Commencement matter. In a way, this feels like Groundhog Day. Several times every single year I have to stand up and talk about the Curragh Plains and the illegal encampments there, causing all sorts of damage and stress. This year, despite previous commitments, I have to do so yet again and I will continue doing so to express the level of frustration people in the area who are impacted feel. This is an important matter regarding the management and protection of the Curragh Plains in County Kildare. It is something I have spoken about many times in this House and in the Lower House.

I know the Minister of State passes the Curragh on a weekly basis going to and coming from Cork. It is one of the most important and historic natural amenities in our country. It is deeply valued by the people of County Kildare and holds enormous environmental, sporting, military and cultural significance. Families, walkers, runners, local sporting clubs, golfers and the wider community cherish the Curragh and take enormous pride in it. It is of course the home of the military and of Curragh racing, as well as many trainers and sheep farmers. Unfortunately, illegal encampments on the Curragh have become a recurring issue that arises year after year, causing serious concern and frustration among those who use the plains. We had an encampment of 30 caravans three weeks ago. I welcome the fact action was taken and they are gone, but yet again last night I received information from residents in the area that another encampment has started. I received another message from the owner of a local bed and breakfast who has to close her business when this happens. It is simply not good enough.

In 2020, we had 19 encampments and bear in mind, an encampment can be anything up to 40 caravans. In 2021, there were 13; in 2022, there were 20; in 2023, there were 15; and in 2024, there were 25 encampments. The waste removal costs the taxpayer approximately €200,000 on an annual basis. That is a very significant sum of money.

Really excellent work was done between Kildare County Council and the Department of Defence on the future of the Curragh Plains where 3,500 respondents wrote in about their cares and concerns about the Curragh. Recommendations were made arising from that. We have yet to see them put in place. I take heart from the interest of the Taoiseach, who spoke on our local radio station, KFM, on Tuesday morning about his hopes that key plans would come before Cabinet within the next few months. It is complex because while this is with the Minister for Defence, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, and the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, are also involved and I have had conversations with all of them.

It is not just the visual appearance of the encampments that happen as there are major safety concerns. There have been reports of significant damage to the local golf club, and I have seen photographs of that. There has been dangerous and illegal driving of vehicles across the Curragh. There is, again, the large quantities of waste and rubbish. We need a very clear update on the management strategy for the Curragh and I really hope the Minister of State will be able to give some clarity and shed some light on timelines for this.

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for again raising this matter. She is, to be fair, continually representing the views of people, including their frustration. I share her view that the management and protection of the Curragh Plains are all of our responsibility. I am taking the matter on behalf of the Minister for Defence who, unfortunately, cannot be present and asked me to convey her apologies. She is attending the PDFORRA conference. She asked me to respond on the matter and thank the Senator for raising it.

As the Senator has said, the Curragh, as State land, is vested in the Minister for Defence and is recognised as a working environment for the State's Defence Forces, as well as being a place of historical and cultural importance, the main occupiers of which are the Defence Forces at the Curragh Camp and the Curragh Racecourse, which leases a large tract of land. In addition, the plains are used by sheep owners who avail of rights of pasture on the lands, which both locals and visitors to Kildare enjoy as a major natural amenity. The Curragh, as we know, is approximately 4,870 acres and is one of the most open and accessible areas in the country. While the Minister would not wish to see this level of accessibility diminished, I am aware the Senator, as a public representative from the area, is acutely aware that this has presented a number of challenges for management due to illegal camping and illegal dumping.

As the Senator rightly said, in 2025 we saw many illegal encampments set up over the course of the summer months which caused a great deal of disruption and anxiety to people living in the area and to business owners. The Senator has articulated that very strongly, not just this morning but repeatedly in this House and in the Lower House. The Department of Defence does not accept those occupying these encampments have any right to reside on the Curragh Plains and, as such, has been engaged with the Chief State Solicitor's office in anticipation of any potential trespassing to ensure all legal steps are taken promptly to protect the plains. A High Court Order was secured in June last year and served on the inhabitants of various illegal encampments to vacate the area. The majority left immediately and have not returned since. In the case of trespass or criminal damage, it is the responsibility of An Garda Síochána to police the situation and the Department of Defence has engaged with it on this issue. I am aware the Senator has spoken to the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and has met the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan. The Senator and the Acting Chairperson will be aware of the arrival of a number of illegal encampments last month, and indeed the Senator made reference to some this week as well, I think. I can confirm to the House that the Minister's officials have engaged promptly with their legal team to progress swift action in dealing with those. I am informed formal notices were served upon those in illegal encampments and, in the main, these were successful in encouraging those trespassing to move on. Those who remain in situ were the subject of an application to the High Court last week for injunctive relief. Officials will continue to pursue this.

As for addressing these challenges in the longer term, the Department of Defence is working to ensure we move to a modern and sustainable regulatory model for managing this historically important landscape. As the Senator has said, on foot of the recommendations contained in the report of two years ago on the Curragh conservation management plan, working with Kildare County Council, the Department is seeking to develop a suitable future management method and to highlight the importance and significance of the heritage associated with the Curragh Plains. I am aware the Senator has spoken to the Taoiseach and he has made reference to plans coming before the Cabinet soon. The report identified the need to consider a dedicated agency responsible for the Curragh or to assign responsibility for the site to an existing agency with the necessary expertise to maximise the potential of the plains. Department officials have been engaged with the National Parks and Wildfire Service and other agencies in this regard and that work is ongoing. The Minister is cognisant of the need to have in place a means of ensuring the conservation of this ancient landscape while also enabling the area to receive the recognition it deserves.

I will come back to the Senator on the other points to do with the matter, but I thank her for raising it.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I acknowledge the good intentions of the Minister. I also acknowledge those in the Department whom I have been liaising with. They are very prompt. They put in place the system that is currently there. However, it is not rectifying the problem because even when the court proceedings are issued, there is a period in which those who are there illegally can occupy that land, and during that period there is damage done and an awful lot of waste left there. While I acknowledge all that, I want to see clarity on the timeline needed in terms of the recommendations. I acknowledge the Department is working to ensure we move to a modern and sustainable regulatory model to make this important landscape protected and free from illegal encampments. It is the timeline we need at this stage. We need to see the Curragh protected, respected and properly maintained. It is a treasured amenity and needs to be preserved for future generations. What I want from the Minister of State is the timeline for the transfer of ownership, the new plan put in place and possibly the legislation I have introduced on illegal encampments enacted because it is clear the present system is not working and we need a different one.

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for her comments. I thank her for accepting the bona fides and good intentions of the Minister. As she said, it is important we get this right. I have not got clarity on the timeline but I will bring her views back. I reassure her the Government is committed to the implantation of the recommendations in the plan to address both the opportunities and challenges. It is included in the programme for Government, which highlights its importance to the Government. I reiterate my thanks to the Senator for her work and assure her the Minister for Defence is working with the whole of Government to ensure the Curragh Plains, which are a treasured amenity, are protected in future while also maintaining the maximum benefit to the local population and those who use the plains as a place of recreation and work. A regulatory model that is both modern and sustainable is the desire of the Minister. The Department of Defence is working to implement the recommendations identified in the Curragh conservation management plan. I will bring the concerns and views articulated by Senator O'Loughlin back to the Minister and the Government. I look forward to working with her to ensure the plains are protected in future while ensuring the maximum benefit to all people who use it.

I thank the Minister of State.