Defence Forces Dail Éireann — 2026-06-23 ============================================================ Mark Wall (LAB), Kildare South The Minister of State is very welcome here tonight. I have often described the Curragh Plains in County Kildare as the jewel in the crown of the whole county. It is 4,870 acres of historic and, in the main, undeveloped land. It is home to our Defence Forces, the racing industry and a large number of sheep farmers, along with a number of magnificent sports clubs. As well as being home to those organisations and entities it is also home to many unique plants and bird species. The Curragh Plains conservation plan states that there are over 200 historic sites and monuments on the Curragh, with many more yet to be discovered. I will come back to the Curragh Plains conservation plan later. Along with other Oireachtas colleagues over the last number of weeks, months and at this stage years, I have been raising concerns about the growing number of illegal encampments on the Curragh. In 2024, for example, the Department of Defence spent €186,000 cleaning up after illegal encampments on the Curragh. This is the Curragh of Kildare where there are currently two battlefield sites with no legal protection. The last Curragh of Kildare Act was in 1969, which is 57 years ago. That Act replaced the Acts of 1868, 1870 and 1961. The Curragh Plains conservation management plan includes engagement with a number of bodies and runs to 161 pages. Its conclusion is that we need to review the Curragh by-laws. They were last reviewed in 1969. It also states that we need to look at the Curragh of Kildare Act, and form a dedicated agency. In 2021, along with a number of colleagues, I took part in consultation and that has developed into the particular plan I mention. As I understand it, that plan has been prepared for over a year and a half now, but in a recent reply I have seen the Minister states that she is still working on the implementation of that plan. Unfortunately, over the last number of weeks we have seen, once again, a large number of caravans in an illegal encampment. At one stage the numbers rose to over 100. We also saw the imposition of circus tents on the Curragh. The Curragh is a magnificent facility that is used by many people from the towns of Newbridge, Kildare town, Kilcullen and all the surrounding areas of County Kildare, yet we are being defined by illegal encampments. We are being defined by people who come here and do not respect the Curragh and by extension the people of Kildare. What I am asking for tonight, and I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, has some answers for us, is that the Government will finally realise the importance of the Curragh of Kildare, that the Government will enact the Curragh Plains conservation management plan strategy, and that we will see an entity such as a dedicated agency taking it over. In replies I have received in the last number of weeks, the Minister for Defence has told me that her Department has been in and out of the High Court trying to get injunctions against these illegal encampments. I hope the Minister of State has some good news for all of us who value the Curragh of Kildare as the jewel in the crown of our great county. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-23/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:06+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-23