THERE is growing anger today over Government plans to privatise visitor and education services at Glenveagh National Park.
The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht says it is reviewing services at the park – with bus drivers and guides could be forced to work for a private company.
Local businessman Charlie McClafferty has expressed his ‘anger’ and ‘serious concerns’ regarding the future of Glenveagh National Park.
McClafferty, who runs a small rural pub in Churchill, was very concerned to read about the plans to privatise Glenveagh National Park
McClafferty told Donegal Daily: “Glenveagh National Park is by far the biggest Tourist attraction in North County Donegal.
“It has a major impact on Donegal tourism numbers and the Donegal tourism spend which helps a wide range of local businesses and services.
“Jobs and businesses in Churchill, Letterkenny, Kilmacrennan, Termon, Creeslough, Dunlewey, Doocharry and Glenswilly benefit significantly from Glenveagh National Park visitors.”
Glenveagh had 117,000 visitors last year and McClafferty insists it is essential that the Park is managed in a professional manner.
“It is not just a Nature protection site – it is the most important economic activity in this rural area, he added.
McClafferty believes the staff that are under threat are not the Wildlife staff, they are industrial staff including bus drivers, visitor guides, office staff and maintenance staff.
McClafferty said, “There are just over thirty industrial staff in Glenveagh, who run the Park, and do not work in the wildlife section and they also add seasonal staff in the summer.
“We already know that County Donegal has some of the worst unemployment, depopulation and emigration figures in the Republic of Ireland.
“There is a concern amongst the staff that the future plans for Glenveagh National Park are based just on National Park and Wildlife Service (NPWS) budgets and completely ignore the wider impact of Glenveagh on Donegal’s economy and unemployment figures.
McClafferty feels that business people in Churchill can reiterate his views that Glenveagh National Park is much more than a ‘budget heading’ of the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
According to McClafferty, Glenveagh represents the most important economic and cultural site within our isolated community running from Kilmacrennan, to Creeslough to Dunlewey to Fintown and back to Churchill.
“People in this area do not know what is going on in Glenveagh – we have no say in any aspect of the Park management.
“Nobody seems to know what the priorities for this National Park are. We have never seen a business plan for Glenveagh and how it should be managed.
“We have been told that Wicklow National Park has a Community Council, involved in the local National Park management decisions.
McClafferty said the imbalance in the distribution of the allocated Capital Budget that is distributed to National Parks is unacceptable.
“The notion locally is that most of the 6 National Parks are being starved of cash.
“However, a recent Parliamentary Question revealed that Killarney National Park got 77% of the allocated Capital Budget for National Parks in 2013.
“That leaves the remaining 23% divided into the 5 other National Parks, which is simply unacceptable.
“This imbalance, in favouring Killarney National Park, has been evident since the relevant Minister, from Kerry, took over in 2011.
“There was a internal management review and report a few years ago, which suggested splitting Glenveagh Castle form the rest of Glenveagh National Park –which seems a little bit odd.
McClafferty accepts that nobody has ever calculated how much money visitors to the Park spend in the local economy, but insists that doesn’t dilute the importance of Glenveagh to the local economy.
“The business people in Churchill have never been asked our opinions on the importance of Glenveagh for our business.
“We accept the Park is not facing closure, but there does seem to be less events, advertising and activity in Glenveagh National Park in recent years.
“People would often go to Glenveagh and stop off in Churchill for a bite to eat or they would come in from their B & Bs in the evening to listen to some music or just relax.
“Nearly every tourist or visitor to Glenveagh, who dropped in to our pub afterwards, spoke of the special relaxed atmosphere in Glenveagh – where all the staff are so helpful and friendly.
“They always made positive comparisons with other important visitor sites, nationally and internationally.
McClafferty feels that any businessperson can anticipate that difficult situations and awkward visitor problems will be “passed on” between the different franchises and not get due attention.
“I am sure the quality of Visitor Services at Glenveagh will suffer with privatisation.
“At a time of crippling emigration and unemployment in Donegal, it would seem reasonable to anticipate a Government plan to grow the visitor numbers in Glenveagh to 150,000.
“It is one of our key rural resources. Instead we read about a plan to merely cut administration and spending costs on Glenveagh National Park, which will inevitably lead to damage to its visitor services and reputation.
For McClafferty it seems that small savings in the NPWS budget could well lead to large losses in the Donegal local economy and National Exchequer returns.
“Nobody seems to have done the proper sums and analyses, it is totally unacceptable.
Any argument that these cuts are beyond the control of the Department, and due to our economic woes, are simply false according to McClafferty.
“The increased funding for Killarney National Park shows that the cuts are being implemented in an unfair way, according to old style political favouritism.
“I would urge the People and Businesses of North Donegal to voice your concern about yet another unfair and ill informed austerity plan for Donegal.