Vol. 508 No. 5
10 D'fhiafraigh Mr. Sargent den Aire Ealaíon, Oidhreachta, Gaeltachta agus Oileán an ndéanfaidh sí athbhreithniú ar a laghad portach atá ainmnithe mar ceantair speisialta chaomhnaithe ag cur san áireamh go bhfuil an Comisiún Eorpach agus an 'Nature Topic Centre' i bPáras ag iarraidh a lán portach eile a chaomhnú agus go bhfuil an IPCC ag iarraidh na portaigh ardaithe go léir atá fágtha a chaomhnú. [18692/99]
At a recent meeting of the Atlantic region biogeographical seminar Ireland agreed that it needed to increase the number of special areas of conservation being transmitted to the EU. My officials indicated that some sites were under appeal and that an additional 128 sites had recently been advertised. I will ensure that other sites which qualify under the EU habitats directive will be transmitted to the EU as soon as objections by landowners to the inclusion of their lands in these sites are dealt with through the appeals system. I received a list of a large number of suggested sites from the IPCC. My officials are examining this list to see which, if any, is suitable for inclusion on the list of proposed SACs.
Luaigh an tAire suímh eile agus an bhfuil sí sásta na portaigh ardaithe ar fad a ainmniú mar cheantair speisialta chaomhnaithe ag an bpointe seo. Cén dul chun cinn atá déanta aici chun stop a chur le gearradh na bportaigh ardaithe atá at titim amach faoi láthair. Dúirt sí cheana féin gur gcuirfear airgead ar fáil chun spreagadh a thabhairt do dhaoine gan a bheith ag cur isteach ar na portaigh sin agus an bhfuil aon acmhainní curtha ar fáil chun é sin a chur i gcrích?
As I said in my reply, the IPCC indicated other sites it would like to see included on the list. My officials are looking at this issue to see if any of the sites warrant inclusion. We acknowledge that Ireland has some of the most pristine bogs in Europe and it is essential that they are preserved. In the same way, a balance has to be struck between rightly preserving such bogs and the number of bogs concerned. I am satisfied that the number of bogs designated will be accepted under the EU directive. We have some of the best examples of such bogs. The Deputy is aware that it is not a question of allocating every raised bog in the country, but of taking the best examples of such bogs. That is what will go to Europe and will be agreed under the directive.
As regards compensation and payment, the Minister of State and I have been at pains to ensure that this system is fair. We must comply with the EU directive—
I draw the Minister's attention to the one minute rule.
A Cheann Comhairle, I am trying to be helpful to the Deputy in giving as much information as I can.
Two yellow cards for the Minister.
Dúirt an tAire go raibh sí chun airgead a chur ar fáil do dhaoine atá ag gearradh portaigh chun áiteamh orthu éirí as ach ní dúirt sí an méid airgid atá i gceist nó an bhfuil pacáiste curtha le chéile chuige seo.
An nglacann an tAire leis go mbeidh daoine sa Choimisiún ag gearán nach bhfuil a ndóthain portaigh ardaithe ainmnithe againn. An mbeidh sí cinnte i ndeireadh báire?
With regard to the compensation for raised bogs, a very extensive and fair package is in place. This has been advertised and before it was advertised I consulted with a number of groups. Since the publication of the com pensation package we have had the opportunity of giving our views. We must comply with the directive and we wish to be as fair as we possibly can in doing so. The Minister of State and I have been very open in putting forward our proposals and we believe the package is fair.
The list of sites to be given to the Commission is not yet complete but we wish the Commission to understand that we will implement a programme. In order to bring about that programme, the Minister of State and I had discussions in Brussells where we explained that we wish to have co-operation in every sense. We believe that understanding and co-operation from landowners and land users is the best possible way forward for conservation. I acknowledge, as we acknowledged at the recent seminar, that we must transmit further sites and we have every intention of doing so once the appeals have been dealt with.
