Vol. 450 No. 3
37 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment the action, if any, he proposes to take to protect the remaining areas of raised bogs in Ireland in view of the fact that peat extraction schemes have been implemented on 23 sites since 1988 when the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive was transposed into legislation, in spite of which no single audit has been conducted on a peat extraction project. [4230/95]
51 Mr. E. Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment if he intends to implement the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive regarding raised bogs. [4958/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 37 and 51 together.
Directive 85/337/EEC on Environmental Impact Assessment has been transposed into Irish law for all relevant categories of development, including peat extraction. The implementing Regulations subject peat extraction to planning permission and Environmental Impact Assessment requirements where the area involved is 50 hectares or more. Large scale projects likely to have significant effects on the environment are now, therefore, subject to planning control.
The planning system is just one instrument in nature conservation policy, primary responsibility for which rests with my colleague, the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht. I understand that proposals to put Natural Heritage Areas on a statutory footing are being developed by my colleague, and that work is in progress also on the preparation of measures to transpose Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and wild flora and fauna into national law. These developments will be of major significance for peatland conservation.
