Vol. 493 No. 3
333 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his Department's policy regarding landscape conservation and preservation; the measures, if any, which his Department has in place to put this policy into effect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16164/98]
The operation of the physical planning code, which is the responsibility of my Department, and other codes and initiatives, including the Habitats Regulations and the REPS, which do not come within the responsibility of my Department, have a vital role in the protection of the landscape. In this regard, the implementation of the provisions of the planning code is a matter for the individual local planning authorities.
Land use planning guidelines published by my Department are also relevant in the context of protecting the landscape: such guidelines have already been published in relation to telecommunications antennae and support structures and wind farm development and draft consultation guidelines have been published in relation to forestry development. There is also a range of current proposals which are, at least in part, designed to enhance this protection.
Principal among these are: the current review of planning legislation which is now nearing completion; the preparation of new draft land use planning guidelines on high amenity landscapes and on the scope and content of development plans; and the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill which is currently in preparation by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands.
I believe that all the existing landscape protection measures, taken together with the initiatives outlined above, will ensure an increasingly effective regime for the conservation and preservation of the national landscape.
