The Minister of State is welcome.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, for coming to the House - in fairness, he is always ready to step up and serve in whatever way he can - but I am disappointed the Minister for Defence is not taking this Commencement matter. I have tabled a number of Commencement matters about the Curragh over the past year and the Minister has never come in to take any of them. I had the opportunity to speak to her briefly about it, as well as communicating via numerous emails.

The situation in the Curragh is absolutely appalling. In recent years I have flagged, as have many others, the illegal encampments that come to the Curragh. Year after year I get the same emails from the same people and I am embarrassed and frustrated that I have to go back without any real answer about what is happening with the Curragh. The latest instalment of the encampment is between 80 and 100 caravans. There is a big tent like a circus tent in the middle of the Curragh. There are portaloos. The rubbish, as Minister of State will be able to imagine, with that number of people there illegally, is mounting up. Bear in mind that approximately two months ago, €180,000 of taxpayers' money was spent on removing the rubble that was there. One of the greens in Cill Dara Golf Club has been damaged. Two of them were damaged last year.

Given that a court order has been made, I cannot understand how they are still there. Having had numerous meetings with An Garda Síochána, which has said it is willing to support the Department of Defence in whatever way it can, I cannot understand how they are still there. I had a meeting with the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, recently about how the Department of justice can support the Department of Defence at this point in time.

There is a huge environmental impact. There is a severe strain on and potential degradation of the fragile Curragh ecosystem, which is hugely important. There is a huge social nuisance. There is a restriction of access for local residents who utilise the plains to exercise and rest and for recreation and there is a significant visual impact on this historic, protected landscape.

On Sunday, I was at the induction of Jim Kavanagh into the Irish Derby Festival Hall of Fame. Jim is the former chief executive of the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association. He is a passionate advocate for the Curragh. He is a real racing historian and curator and has put together a wonderful museum of racing legends. Sadly, he had to devote most of his speech to what is happening in the Curragh. The Curragh is internationally recognised for its thoroughbred industry. There is a real concern among the many trainers based around it about bringing their horses out; about rubbish being there that could damage the horses; and about animals, including dogs and horses, being mistreated. Of course there is always concern about contagious diseases.

I hope the Minister of State has some type of reply for me because we need to have long-term preventative measures and we need the current issues to be remedied as soon as possible.

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I acknowledge her continual and strong advocacy on this issue, not only in the past few weeks, but months and years.

It is regrettable that the Minister cannot be here today as she is caught up with preparations for the EU Presidency, but she sends her apologies. I will read the response given and hopefully it does address some of the Senator's concerns. If not, we will see how we can take it from there in the follow-up section.

Already this year, the Curragh has seen several different illegal encampments, including one containing approximately 100 caravans, which the Senator alluded to. This has caused a great deal of disruption and anxiety to local stakeholders. The Department of Defence does not accept that those occupying these encampments have any right to reside on the Curragh Plains and as such has been engaged regularly with the Chief State Solicitor's Office, CSSO, to ensure that all legal steps are taken promptly to protect the plains.

In April, the Department initiated proceedings for relief for trespass in the High Court and in the preceding months a number of other parties were served with notices and added to the proceedings before the court. On 5 June 2026, Mr. Justice Jordan granted an interim court order against 35 named individuals and other persons unknown in the occupation on the Curragh. These orders were served on those occupants by bailiffs on the evening of Monday, 8 June 2026, with orders to vacate. Interlocutory orders were served on the occupants of the large encampment on the evening of Friday, 12 June 2026. Further notices to quit were delivered to the encampment on Saturday, 20 June 2026.

In terms of addressing these challenges in the longer term, the Department of Defence is working to ensure that we move to a modern and sustainable regulatory model in managing this historically important landscape. In collaboration with Kildare County Council, the Curragh consultancy project was published in 2024, which identified the need for a review of the Curragh by-laws and the Curragh of Kildare Act, as well as potential amendments to provide effective solutions to challenges faced. The report also 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.

The Government is committed to the implementation of these recommendations to address both the opportunities and challenges, as can be seen by its inclusion in the programme for Government. To this end, Department officials are continuing to engage with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, which has undertaken an initial scoping of the likely requirements.

I am informed that officials from the Department's property management branch met officials from the NPWS on Wednesday last, 17 June 2026, at the Curragh and undertook a tour of the plains. I am informed that this was a very positive engagement and that the appropriate next steps will be identified in the near future.

I thank the Senator again for raising this matter and would like to assure her on behalf of the Minister that it is her intention to ensure that the Curragh Plains, as an important element of our shared heritage, is protected into the future, while also ensuring maximum benefit to the local population, as well as to those who come to visit the area.

I certainly welcome the continued engagement with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which has undertaken an initial scoping and I believe this is the way forward. I am also pleased to hear that there was a meeting between the Department of Defence and the National Parks and Wildlife Service on Wednesday last and the fact that it was positive. This cannot come soon enough. My strong message coming back from here is that those appropriate next steps will not only be identified but will be implemented. It is of absolute urgency that this is seen and taken as a priority.

In terms of the existing encampment that is there - and I thank the Minister of State for providing the chronological order in terms of the dates with the Courts Service - given those dates and the action that has been taken, which is clear, I cannot understand why the encampments are still there. Something is breaking down somewhere. As I said, I met the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and he was very clear that the Department would do what it could. The gardaí in Newbridge and Kildare are excellent in my dealings with them. Something is breaking down somewhere and we need this resolved.

There is a very strong commitment to ensuring that we have a modern and sustainable regulatory model in place to manage the historically important landscape that is the Curragh. As the Senator acknowledged, there is a conservation plan in place and there are recommendations that put in place the foundation for the future management of the plains. Progress is happening. The difficulty is, whenever anything is identified, we are all very keen to ensure that it is implemented in a timely fashion. The Government is judged not just on identifying what the solutions are for a particular challenge - the challenge in the Curragh being what the Senator has identified - but its implementation of recommendations in a timely fashion. The Senator has made that point very clearly. I give an undertaking that I will relay to the Minister for Defence that it is all very well identifying the recommendations, but their implementation is key and what is expected by the wider community affected by the issue.