I move:
That Dáil Éireann welcomes the publication of the Regulations for the designation of Special Areas of Conservation under the Statutory Instrument laid before the Oireachtas on the 26th February by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht for the purpose of transposing into Irish law the terms of the Habitats Directive of the European Union in accordance with the terms of the European Communities Act 1972; and notes with approval the success of the Minister in promoting a spirit of partnership between all those concerned for the conservation of the Irish countryside in advancing the objectives of the Directive.
The recent signing and publication of the regulations allowing for the designation of special areas of conservation represent several significant achievements. The regulations provide a sound basis for the long-term future of the conservation and protection of our native habitats for wildlife, acknowledge the critical role of farmers and farming practice in creating and maintaining areas of high conservation value and operate to channel very important income to many small farmers and landowners. The process recognises the crucial elements of a partnership approach in nature conservation, a partnership of government, farming and other conservation interests. Tá i gceist agam cúpla focal a rá faoi na réimsí éagsúla sin, ceann ina cheann.
On the various occasions that these issues have been discussed in the House there has been consensus that the natural heritage has been seriously damaged. Many habitat sites and species of fauna and flora have been destroyed, degraded or are seriously threatened. We all know that this cannot continue, the responsibility to deal with the critical issues needs to be grasped and remedial action taken. I have sought through the partnership approach referred to in the motion to take that responsibility and to put in place the appropriate remedial action. The Habitats Directive and the enabling regulations which I have signed, with the financial package being put in place, represent the most significant elements of that response. This directive does not seek to apply conservation measures to all sites and wildlife habitats which are of significance for wildlife either in Ireland or the European Union as a whole; rather its purpose is to protect the very best of what we have left and, in particular, those sites and habitats that are important in a European context. Specifically, it is designed to protect, through designation as special areas of conservation, natural habitats which are in danger of disappearance, are rare or represent outstanding examples of their type.
I wish to refer to some of these habitats in an Irish context. We are all familiar with blanket bogs, which occur mainly in upland areas and are concentrated in the west, and raised bogs which were once typical of the midlands. I want to be clear and frank about why intervention is needed urgently. No less than 8 per cent of the world's blanket bog is found in Ireland, which is the most important country in Europe for blanket bog. Lowland blanket bog is found only in Ireland and Scotland. Ireland supports some of the best remaining examples of raised bogs in Europe and these are probably the most extensive of their type in the world. However, there has been damage and loss on a huge and unacceptable scale. The sad reality is that a staggering 80-90 per cent of our blanket and raised bogs have been degraded or destroyed. This not only represents significant destruction of the national and European but also constitutes significant destruction of the global natural resource.
I wish to refer to another habitat type — turloughs — with which we are all familiar and of which we are justifiably proud. These occur in limestone areas mainly in the centre part of the country west of the Shannon, most commonly in counties Galway, Clare, Mayo and Roscommon. These seasonal lakes are unique to Ireland, but once again destruction is widespread. At least one third of all turloughs in Ireland — and, therefore, in Europe — have been destroyed by drainage and those that remain are under threat from drainage, pollution and other factors.
I want to mention one further habitat type, that being limestone pavement. The most important parts of the country in which this is found are the Burren and the Aran Islands. This is a wildlife habitat and landscape of international importance. This habitat is also vulnerable to damage, sometimes through clearance of the limestone pavement, reclamation or farming practices.
While the directive and the regulations concentrate on the protection of habitats by designating the prime sites as special areas of conservation, or SACs as they have come to be known, a relatively small number of species are also identified as requiring protection. These include, for example, the Killarney fern, Ireland having the largest population in Europe outside of Spain and Portugal, and the lesser horseshoe bat, a species for which Ireland is the most important country in Europe. Also included are species with which we may be even less familiar, such as a very rare and threatened species of fresh water pearl mussel which has only been recorded in this country, in the River Nore, and which currently faces extinction.
I could continue in a similar vein, but Deputies will clearly see the backdrop against which the directive, and subsequently the regulations, were framed. The habitats I have referred to, and the others covered by the regulations, are extremely important. All have suffered significant and often drastic losses and all are virtually or completely irreplaceable. The action taken in putting the regulations in place represents my commitment, as the Minister responsible for the heritage, and the commitment of the Government to turn back this tide for the benefit not just of the current generation but also as a worthy bequest to generations which will follow. If nothing else were achieved in the heritage area in the life of the Government, this in itself would represent a considerable achievement.
Having set out the urgent rationale for the directive and the regulations, I will now set out what these regulations will mean in practice for land owners and users. In signing the regulations on the 26 February and ensuring a fair financial package was put in place, I have not merely transposed the bones of the directive into Irish law. The regulations certainly incorporate the protective requirements contained in the directive, but they do much more than that. They put in place a fair process with provision for objections, appeals, arbitration, independent input and fair and proper compensation. I will briefly outline this process.
At this stage, proposed candidate SAC sites have been identified as the result of comprehensive surveys undertaken by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department. The areas involved cover about 550,000 hectares in some 400 sites. Many of these valuable sites are contained in the western part of the country. The most extensive areas involve blanket bog, heath and uplands covering approximately 200,000 hectares; lakes and rivers, approximately 100,000 hectares; estuaries, mudflats and cliffs, approximately 90,000 hectares; a further 40,000 hectares of shallow bays and 54,000 hectares of saltmarsh, machair and sand dunes. Other habitats include 30,000 hectares of limestone pavement, 10,000 hectares of raised bogs, 15,000 hectares of fens and 3,000 hectares of turloughs. That is the composition of the national map.
Notification of the proposals to put forward sites as candidate SACs will be issued in three phases. The first batch of notifications will issue this week and relate to approximately 200 sites containing priority habitats such as blanket bog and uplands, raised bogs, turloughs, machair and limestone pavement. Every effort will be made to contact landowners directly, with each landowner being supplied with a map of the area being proposed for designation, a description of the site indicating the reason it is being put forward, an outline of likely damaging activities, and information on the procedures for objections and appeals, as well as on compensation.
In addition to making direct contact with known landowners, announcements and maps of the sites involved will be displayed in local Garda stations, local offices of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Teagasc offices, local offices of the Department of Social Welfare, planning offices of local authorities and local offices of my own Department. Announcements will also be broadcast on local radio and placed in local newspapers. Furthermore, public meetings are being organised to provide information on candidate SACs and a freefone service is in place to provide information and answer queries relating to SACs. To complete this comprehensive package of information measures, local staff of the National Parks and Wildlife Service will be available to deal with specific issues with individual landowners, users and other interested parties.
As has been pointed out on a number of occasions, the habitats directive is a conservation measure and only allows for objections to proposed designations on scientific grounds — that is in the directive. I am, however, putting in place a board, representative of farming and other conservation interests, as well as an independent chairperson, which will advise me on such objections. The procedure being put in place will allow landowners and others the opportunity to object to the proposal to put forward the site. They can object to the inclusion of the site in the candidate list, the proposed boundaries or the conditions specified, but the objections may be on scientific grounds only, which are derived from the directive. My Department is actively examining how best landowners or users who may have grounds to object can so do in the most effective and cheapest way possible. Parties will be invited to contact the NPWS in the first instance, and only if issues cannot be dealt with in an informal fashion will the formal process come into play. When I speak about "others", I mean anyone interested in any general conservation or leisure area.
On the role of farmers and farming practices, bhí ról fíor-thábhachtach ag an bhfeirmeoireacht i múnlú na tuaithe agus na bithéagsúlachta atá againn in Éirinn inniu. Tá béim leagtha agam go minic — sa Teach seo agus in áiteanna eile — ar an ról criticiúil a bhí ag feirmeoirí i gcruthú agus i gcothabháil na gceantar nádúrtha speisialta atá á bplé againn anseo inniu agus ar an ngá, dá réir, go leanfar leis an bhfeirrneoireacht ar bhealach inmharthana. Measaim gur fiú a rá arís gurbh iad na feirmeoirí féin i mórán cásanna a chruthaigh, tríd a gcuid nósanna feirmeoireachta traidisiúnta féin, na gnáthóga sin agus a gcabhraíonn fós le hardluach caomhantais a choimeád sna ceantair atá i gceist. Ar ndóigh, bheinn faillíoch mura ndé- arfainn freisin gur de bharr nósanna áirithe feirmeoireachta nua-aimseartha a tharla meath i líon suntasach de na ceantair sin. Ní gá dom ach tagairt a dhéanamh don droch-éifeacht a tháinig as barraíocht caorach a bheith curtha ar thailte áirithe in iarthar na tíre chun an pointe sin a fhírinniú.
However, from an ecological perspective, if we are to maintain the high environmental value, it is essential that the sustainable farming practices which maintain the important and irreplaceable habitats continue. Taking land out of agricultural production, or forcing farmers off the land, as I have been accused of, is not a viable option from a nature conservation perspective. To say nature conservation wants to or must drive farmers off the land is arrant nonsense. Both objectives can be achieved. The opposite of the assertion of driving anybody off the land is true. Support for the continuation of sustainable farming is needed for effective conservation, as well as for social, economic and practical reasons. It is not and should not be an either/or situation, either we have agriculture or we have nature conservation.
I want to firmly nail some of the wilder statements made in recent months and set out the actual position. There is no change affecting the ownership of land; the regulations do not give compulsory purchase powers to my Department, nor was this ever contemplated; there is no question of increased public access to lands designated or proposed for designation. There is provision for NPWS staff to monitor activity in a SAC, but they will always try to contact the landowner first. There is no question of a prohibition on farming in areas designated as SACs. Such designation will not interfere with sustainable farming. Only activities which are damaging will be restricted or required to be changed.
Every Member of this House recognises the benefits, and the necessity, of having an agriculture industry which respects and maintains a high quality environment. The benefits to agriculture in general, to farmers, to the credibility attaching to our food production and to the perception of the country as having a good, clean and green environment are widespread. It further benefits this generation as well as acknowledging our national heritage of which we are mere custodians and trustees.
The third positive outcome from the regulations I referred to at the outset is that they channel very important income to many small farmers and landowners particularly in areas with marginal agricultural production. This compensation package has been negotiated and agreed between myself and my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the farming organisations. I recall being castigated by the Opposition on this issue even though there was a clear Government commitment in Partnership 2000 that a fair and proper level of compensation would be paid, having regard to the level and extent of restriction and all reasonable losses arising as a result of SAC or SPA designations and to the difference between the value pre-designation for environmental purposes and subsequent value of the land consequent on SPA or SAC designation.
Is léir ón toradh comhaontaithe atá faighte againn gur sheasamar go daingean leis an ngeallúint sin agus gur thug an Rialtas lán-tacaíocht dó. Ba mhaith liom an comhaontú a baineadh amach a chur ar thaifead an Tí seo.
There are two options open to landowners or users whose land is designated. Option 1 is the scheme administered by my Department. This package is available to those who decide not to participate in the rural environment protection scheme administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. Under this scheme farmers will be required to farm their SAC land in accordance with an agri-environmental plan prepared by my Department in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. The farming conditions that will apply in the Burren, blanket bogs, heaths and upland grasslands in SACs have already been agreed by my Department and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry as well as by Teagasc, private farm planners, farming organisations and relevant non-governmental organisations, and are in place. These habitats account for over two thirds of the land area to be included in SACs. The same conditions that currently apply under REPS for NHAs will apply to SACs, and I thank those who co-operated in achieving this harmonious development.
Farmers will be compensated for income loss, including headage or premia or its alternative. They will also be compensated for any additional costs or losses which arise as a result of complying with the farm plan. All such costs, including capital costs, will be identified, quantified and agreed between my Department and the farmer concerned. In exceptional cases, including hardship, ex gratia payments may be made. Where agreement is not reached on the amount payable, independent arbitration will be available to determine the compensation.
The second option available to land owners or users is through the rural environment protection scheme, administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. Deputies will be aware that under this scheme there is a basic payment of approximately £50 per acre for the first 100 acres. In the case of lands within proposed NHAs there is a further top-up payment of about £12 per acre. Now with SACs, there is provision for another top-up of some £15 per acre for the first 100 acres. For the next 100 acres, a further £7.50 per SAC acre will paid. Finally, an additional £5 per SAC acre will be payable in the 200-300 acre range. Funding for these additional payments, which are subject to EU approval, will be channelled through my Department.
All of this compensation represents a large injection of income into agriculture and particularly into the west. The annual value of the package is approximately £20 million. Equally, and perhaps more importantly in the longer term, the financial support that this package puts in place sets a precedent by recognising and acknowledging the importance of good farming practice in delivering wider benefits to the community, in particular through the protection and maintenance of our most important wildlife sites. In the longer term, such recognition and financial support for the wider environmental benefits that sustainable farming delivers will, I am sure, be increasingly important for agriculture and farmers.
Over the past several months I have been criticised, often in a vitriolic and offensive fashion, by members of the Opposition in relation to the manner in which I have proceeded to put the regulations we are discussing here today in place. In this House in November last Deputy de Valera castigated me as "some sort of new Cromwell trying to take over land without consultation or compensation". This cheap jibe is indicative of the misinformation which has abounded. I set the record straight in this House in November last in relation to the extent of consultation which had taken place. Let me just give the House a brief update on what has taken place in recent months. Since January there have been some 15 meetings with farming and other conservation representatives, the outcome of which is reflected in the agreement reached within the past fortnight. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge that these farming representatives, as well as negotiating tenaciously, as one might expect, on behalf of their members, also recognised from the outset the necessity and, indeed, virtue of the regulations. In the course of these negotiations, I deferred signing the regulations on three separate occasions to allow for an agreed outcome leading to a signing which was attended by both farming and conservation interests.
Members of my Department have attended and addressed several public meetings, the most recent at Belmullet, Crossmolina, Killarney and, last night, at Maam Cross, and I understand there is a further one today in Glencar in County Kerry and one tomorrow in Westport.
Even this does not spell out the full extent of communication with farming and other conservation interests. A programme of information is being put in place which will encompass local radio, newspapers, information material, local meetings and an information freephone operated by my Department. All of this is being put in place to ensure that individual farmers and landowners are fully informed of exactly what proposed designation may mean for them.
Lest it be construed that all contact, consultation and communication has been with farming representatives alone, I would like to emphasise once again that the benefits of the habitats directive and the regulations I have signed accrue to all. Accordingly, I have been at pains to involve the various conservation groups in consultation.
These groups, together with farming interests, will play an active part in the ongoing implementation of the regulations, and both will be represented on the group I will be putting in place which will advise me on objections to proposed designations. They will also be consulted on the ongoing implementation of the regulations.
All the steps I have taken to date reflect my strong wish to have consensus across the entire community on the importance of the issues and the necessity to take action that recognises the critical role played by a range of parties. It should also be clear to Deputies from all sides of the House that the extent of consultation with all parties has been unprecedented, and I am committed to continuing this communication. To suggest that consultation only took place because of political pressure from members of the Opposition is quite clearly nonsensical and is not borne out by the facts. I have always believed in openness and communication. On no less than three occasions I deferred signing the regulations to allow negotiations to continue on the assurance that progress was being made in the negotiations and not wishing to put anything which might be perceived to be an obstacle in the way of an outcome which would be beneficial to all. The logic of this should be obvious. If there was an absence of agreement considerable difficulty would be encountered in meeting the objectives we have all espoused. Partnership between all parties is not just important but imperative.
Mar focail scoir, cuirfimid críoch leis an méid atá le rá ann, I again draw attention to the historic work we have put in place. We have recognised as a nation the critical importance of taking immediate steps to protect and conserve what remains of the most important elements of our natural heritage. We have approached this task in the knowledge that it can only be accomplished by the co-operation and active participation of all parties. We have a responsibility to the generations from which we have inherited our unique natural heritage to pass this on to future generations so that they too can enjoy the benefits that all of us are currently fortunate enough to possess.
Molaim an rún don Teach.
