Cllr Ferris Calls For Greater Protection For Sand Dunes

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Cllr Deirdre Ferris.

SINN Féin Kerry County Councillor Deirdre Ferris has called for greater protection for sand dunes following a recent Banna fire which resulted in damage to four acres.

The Tralee MD councillor wants a temporary closure of all secondary and unsupervised car parks to Kerry’s local beaches until a plan of conservation and preservation in place for coastal areas and sand dunes and to tackle issues of neglect, overgrazing and anti social behaviour.

Cllr Ferris says that sand dunes are under serious threat from a number of different sources. She said: “During their closure, a full ecological and environmental report of these areas should be carried out, particularly on the special conservation areas in Akearagh, Banna and Barrow Harbour in order to help retain and conserve the current listed status as an Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protected Area (SPA) and stay protected under the European Conservation Laws. Failure to maintain these areas to a high standard could result in them being delisted and the loss of EU funding.”

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“There have been several reports of anti social behaviour in the Banna area alone over a very short period. We’ve had 3 bonfires including one large scale fire which required the hard work of up to 16 firefighters to put it out.

“This caused extensive damage to up to 4 acres of precious sand dune.  A temporary closure of these unsupervised car parks would help protect some our more vulnerable areas and retain the natural beauty that attracts so many tourists to the area.”

“Most importantly, this issue is affecting people who live in this area. The fire in the Banna dunes, was heading toward residential properties as the wind was blowing it in their direction. Illegal camping on the dunes is also damaging dunes which may be contributing to flooding of homes in the areas, not to mention the loss of land during storm surges that these dunes would have always protected.”