Call for council to take over Killarney National Park
A call has been made for the Council in Kerry to take over the 10,200-hectare Killarney National Park so it can be properly staffed and maintained.
Killarney National Park is facing huge challenges with deer management and invasive species such as rhododendron, as well as fires - yet it it has fewer key staff than the much smaller Phoenix Park in Dublin.
Staffing Figures released recently by the National Parks and Wildlife Service which manages the Killarney park and its unique herd of Killarney red deer, reveal that there are fewer wildlife rangers working in the Killarney Park, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, than there are in the Phoenix Park.
The total number of rangers available to the whole of the Killarney District, which includes the 10,236 hectare Killarney National Park and areas outside it like the MacGillicuddy’s Reeks, is seven, the Department of Heritage has said.
In contrast, the 707 hectares Phoenix Park in Dublin, managed by the OPW, has a ranger staff of 11.
The most recent meeting Kerry County Council heard how only three wildlife rangers now work in the park itself - and it no longer has specialist tradespeople such as masons and carpenters.
None of the rangers who have retired or left due to illness in recent years have been replaced and in July the park will only have two wildlife rangers, the meeting was told. In addition, two other posts have not been taken up and the selection process from a new panel has to begin again.
A motion by retiring councillor John Joe Culloty (FF) asked the Department of Heritage to provide the funding for extra staff for the Killarney National Park.
Mr Culloty who is part of the Meitheal volunteer movement tackling the rhododendron infesting woods and walkways in Killarney, last year exposed the situation of starving sika deer on Inisfallen Island.
He said staffing levels for the park, which includes a number of historic buildings, are no longer acceptable and the park is no longer employing permanent masons and other tradesmen.
Everything that is being done in the park is “piecemeal" because of the lack of commitment and funding for staff, he suggested.
On foot of this, led by Cllr Dan McCarthy of Kenmare, a call was made for the Council to take charge of the national park so staffing can be deployed and the park be properly looked after.
“Is it time for this Council to take charge of the national park and put staff in there,” Mr Mc Carthy suggested, echoing local discussions.
Concern about the decline of the Killarney National Park which is at the centre of the town’s multi-million euro tourist industry was a priority election issue for at least one local candidate this time around.
