A PROJECT to provide nappies for horses in the country's most famous national park ended up costing the taxpayer more than €30,000.

The controversial dung catchers, which local authorities are insisting must be used by jarveys in Killarney National Park, were a "good investment", according to the Department of the Environment.

It has emerged that the department forked out a total of €31,765.21 in fees on the project to make the park "cleaner, safer and more attractive".

Expert equine and veterinary fees and expenses ended up costing €8,057.21 according to figures released by the government.

Infrastructure, mainly relating to storage and dumping facilities, came to €12,335.38, the department said. A trial and demonstration to convince jarvey operators in Killarney of the merits of the system came with a bill of €3,100.

Finally, the dung-catchers themselves came in with the hefty price tag of €7,205, according to the Department of the Environment.

They said: "[We] are satisfied that this expenditure was necessarily incurred and represents a good investment in making Killarney National Park, which attracts over one million visitors a year, a cleaner, safer and more attractive place to visit."

The €30,000 bill may well have represented good value because a project to provide cleaning machines in the park would have cost €100,000 a year.

Jarveys, who have been driving horse-drawn carriages through the park for generations, have been mounting a protest outside the park's gates since October after bollards were put in place at the entrance.

Last month, An Bord Pleanála approved plans to build a concrete dungstead less than half-a-mile from Muckross House but declined a separate plan for a sweet shop.

It is planned that manure from the dung-catchers will be put in skips around the park, then transferred to the dungstead, and finally spread on farmland outside the park.

Jarveys have claimed the dung-catchers are unsafe and have called on the government to provide them with compensation to leave the business.

They said that the "nappies" are uncomfortable for horses and mean the animals cannot swat away flies whilst using them.

Two gardaí have also been appointed to police the picket at the gates to Muckross House after reports that tourists were being prevented from entering the park.

The local council insists that a compromise must be reached because of the problem of dung with paths and walkways becoming fouled.