Dúchas, the Heritage Service, has expressed serious concern about part of the Rossbeigh spit in Co Kerry, the sand and dune area surrounding one of the county's major blue flag tourist beaches.
Kerry County Council owns the Rossbeigh sand dune system, which is part of a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) within Castlemaine Harbour. However, the existence of a large number of holiday caravans and camps, without a proper sewerage system, on a site managed by the council is leading to a number of problems, the heritage service has warned.
An Taisce in Kerry is supporting Dúchas in its concern about the council-owned caravan park.
"It's disgraceful that the council are running a caravan-park that doesn't even comply with their own standards," a spokeswoman for An Taisce said yesterday.
Dúchas may resort to legal action against Kerry County Council if matters are not redressed, Mr Fergus Dillon, senior engineer, environmental services with Kerry County Council, has told councillors in a briefing on proposals for a management plan for the spit.
Up to 100 units of camps and caravans are parked on the dunes, and this is leading to erosion and damage to the sensitive dune system, Mr Paddy O'Sullivan, south-west regional manager with Dúchas, has written to Kerry County Council.
The toilet facilities provided by the council at the site have no proper sewage treatment. Visitors driving vehicles on to the dunes are also causing erosion, and the introduction of material from outside the dune system to improve access for vehicles within the dunes is also a threat, Mr O'Sullivan said.
Dúchas has other concerns, a large numbers of walkers and bathers in the camping area at the back of the dune system cross the sensitive dunes to get to the front beach.
"This is causing serious erosion," Mr O'Sullivan said.
The condition of the site has also drawn adverse comment from an EU audit team visiting the site, he said.
SACs are special areas of conservation, defined as prime wildlife conservation habitats, and are designated under the EU (Natural Habitats) Directive, 1997.
There is a legal obligation to protect SACs from damage and to provide strategies to resolve conflict between different uses and to retain the conservation value of the designated area. Mr Dillon said the council was taking the concerns of Dúchas seriously.
"The issue of proper management of the Rossbeigh Spit as part of Castlemaine Harbour SAC is a serious one. Issues need to be resolved with a solution acceptable to all parties, particularly Dúchas, Kerry County Council and recreational users of Rossbeigh Spit," he said.
Mr Dillon now proposes that the council take a decision to close the caravan-park from next September and remove the toilet block. He also proposes to draw up a management plan with Dúchas.
There is, however, likely to be strong local opposition to the idea of closing the caravan park. A similar proposal in 1994 met with huge resistance and was reversed by the council in 1995. An attempt had also been made to close the beach to caravans and campers in the 1960s.
Cllr Michael Cahill, a former chairman of Kerry County Council, who lives and runs a bar on the beach, has criticised the lack of consultation by Kerry County Council with himself. There is a need for a proper management plan, he said, and vehicles going on to the dunes had been stopped.
"But the caravan park cannot be shut down completely. Some of the people have been using it since 1916 and are regarded as part of the community here," Cllr Cahill said.
Wind and sea were causing far more erosion than the caravans and camps and had reduced the area of Rossbeigh Spit from 700 acres to 400 acres now, he pointed out.
"What have Dúchas done about that? If Dúchas want to work with us it would be in their interest to put money into the area instead of closing off one of Kerry's greatest amenities." The community had its own management plan to develop the beach, Cllr Cahill said.