Vol. 473 No. 4
206 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht if his Department will financially compensate a person (details supplied) in County Cork who is unable to sell his land to Coillte Teo because it has been designated as a national heritage area. [25248/96]
Natural heritage areas (NHAs) are as yet only at the proposal stage: no designation will be made until the necessary amendment to the Wildlife Act, 1976, is passed by the Oireachtas. This amendment will be introduced in the Oireachtas as soon as possible.
Even after formal designation, NHAs will not involve any compulsory restrictions on the use to which land can be put. Consequently, compensation will not arise as a result of NHA designations.
