Deenihan: No plans to sell national parks

Arts and Heritage Minister Jimmy Deenihan has today insisted that there are no plans to sell off Ireland's national parks.

Minister Deenihan says there are "no plans whatsoever" to turn the management of Ireland's six national parks into private hands.

His comments come after newspaper reports that visitor services at the parks could be outsourced to private firms.

The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht says it is "always looking at ways" to improve the parks, and that some services are outsourced as a result.