Ned O'Keeffe
Question:112 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht when compensation will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Cork whose land is designated a natural heritage area. [8992/97]
Written Answers - Natural Heritage Areas.
Natural heritage areas (NHAs) are still only at the proposal stage and no designation will take place until an amendment to the Wildlife Act, 1976, is passed by the Oireachtas. This amendment will be introduced in the Oireachtas as soon as possible.
The proposed NHAs place no formal conditions on these lands and have no affect on the pre-existing use of these lands pending whatever provisions are made in the amendment to the Wildlife Act, 1976. They do not affect ownership rights, including access, grazing, sporting or turbary rights, or existing land use. It is intended to protect these sites by obtaining the co-operation and goodwill of land owners and farmers who are asked not to engage in activities likely to damage these areas.
Even after the Wildlife Act, 1976, is amended, it is intended that the formal designation of NHAs will not involve any compulsory restrictions on the use to which land can be put. Consequently it is anticipated that the matter of compensation will not arise as a result of NHA designation.