Helen Keogh
Question:8 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht if he intends to forward a list of special areas of scientific interest to Brussels in advance of the June deadline. [10026/95]
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Areas of Scienific Interest.
The June deadline referred to by the Deputy is in respect of a list of candidate special areas of conservation SACs. The EU Habitats Directive places a requirement on Ireland, and other member states, to submit a list of candidate SACs to the Commission by 5 June 1995. This deadline has not been met by Ireland or the other member states. A list of sites is being selected from the proposed natural heritage areas which replaced the old areas of scientific interest.
My Department is preparing a regulation which will introduce the Habitats Directive into Irish Law. This regulation will establish a formal designation procedure and afford protection to the sites.
After the new regulations are made, and before the submission of the list of candidate SACs to Brussels, the draft list will be published and all interested parties will have an opportunity to make their views known. There will be procedures for consideration of any objections by landowners or occupiers to the inclusion of their lands.
The Commission is aware that substantial progress is being made on this matter.
I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply and commend him on the progress made to date on this matter, which is of fundamental importance for Ireland. Will the Minister say whether our failure to meet the June deadline will in any way inhibit our chances of receiving future essential funding?
I believe not. The only member state that has submitted a tentative list, without maps, is Denmark. In addition, the Commission has been made aware of the procedures we are following. It is very important that there be a process of prior advertisement and consultation, to enable objections to be heard so that ultimately we will be able to enjoy the fullest possible co-operation with those who are owners, occupiers or users of land.
I agree with the procedure the Minister has outlined because to do otherwise would create future problems for ourselves. That being said, can the Minister inform us when this process is likely to be completed and whether he can envisage a date by which we will be able to lodge our formal submission?
I would have to work out a time scale for the Deputy. I hope the Wildlife Act, 1976, as amended, will constitute the statutory basis for national heritage areas. I have been very anxious to ensure that the procedures we put in place will follow from real consultation. By that I mean that we should allow people as much apportunity as possible for consultation, specification, appeal and adjudication. We could make substantial progress in the course of this year, when the statutory basis will be established so that, early in 1996, we should be able to conclude the matter.
This question deals with special areas of conservation. The sites are the most important in Europe for the conservation of wildlife; in our case, these would be mainly peatland, wetland, coastal, woodland, grassland, limestone or a combination of these. We are talking about a possible 250 to 300 sites which will be adjudicated on after the statutory provision will have been provided later this year.
I have been fascinated by the replies so far, having heard references to national heritage areas and special areas of conservation whereas Deputy Keogh's question refers to special areas of scientific interest. Perhaps there is confusion, not only in Deputy Keogh's mind but throughout the country on these designations. Will the Minister agree that his answer hides the fact that he is acutely embarrassed by the special areas of scientific interest which, following the débacle of the Clifden Airport case, were found to be worthless? Furthermore, will he agree that ironically the waste from his Department, comprising cigarette ends, teabags and so on, probably ends up being dumped on a special area of scientific interest at Rogerstown Estuary in North County Dublin, clearly demonstarting that the special areas of scientific interest referred to in the question tabled are worthless? Will he agree that the sooner we make progress on the national heritage areas and ditch the areas of scientific interest the better it will be for our environment?
We are having quite an extension of the subject matter of the question.
I have no difficulty answering Deputy Sargent's question. I can assure him I am not embarrassed. I am aware of the argument about areas of scientific interest. On this occasion I am very anxious that the consultation procedures will be such as to gain the support of the different organisations involved. Far from being embarrassed, I am adamant that we should not continue the procedures that obtained to date, which led to complaint about inadequacy of consultation, so that we ended up in a confrontation which does not help anybody. That is why I changed the procedures.
On the other matter of dumping cigarette ends and waste, my Department is as ecologically responsible as any other Department. There appears to be a notion abroad that we should have some kind of superior, cranky view that all of us responsible for this area are less committed to the environment. I wrote about these issues over 20 years ago and my commitment to the environment and ecology remains as it was then, before many others took up the cause.
What will be the impact of this EU Habitats Directive on the only special amenity area order adopted here for the Liffey Valley? I proposed it in 1984. Very little progress has been made in affording the area the real protection it warrants. The special amenity order is merely a theoretical exercise not followed by any practical action on the part of successive Governments. Will the Liffey Valley feature at the top of the list in our submission to Brussels, with funding allocated thereto to bring it into public ownership, thus rendering that wonderful amenity available to the public?
I will adhere to the part of the Deputy's supplementary relevant to the question tabled. Once the statutory basis has been established through the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended, the list can be prepared from natural heritage areas which will have the support of that legislation. It will be possible then to put the initiative to which Deputy Lawlor referred into that context, rendering it more certain.