Vol. 518 No. 1
91 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the information she has regarding the legal action being brought against Ireland before the European Court of Justice for failure to inform the commission about protected sites by the June 1995 deadline and delaying the establishment of Natura 2000. [10924/00]
As the Deputy will be aware this matter is subjudice and consequently my response must be limited.
The habitats directive requires member states to propose, on the basis of specified scientific criteria, relevant natural areas for designation as special areas of conservation –SACs. It also obliges member states to protect their favourable conservation status and to transmit a list of the proposed areas, together with full information on each site, within three years of the date of the notification of the directive–by June 1995–to the European Commission.
The directive was transposed into Irish law by means of the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations, 1997 (S.I. No. 94/97). The main part of Ireland's SAC network has, since March 1997, been publicly advertised for SAC designation and receives legal protection in Ireland from that date.
The European Commission has instituted proceedings against Ireland in the European Court of Justice for the non-transmission of special areas of conservation to it within the timescale set out in the directive. The Commission has been informed of all the sites that I have advertised for designation.
The European Commission agrees with me and with the Government that the viability of the Natura 2000 network of sites is dependent on the co-operation of the landowners and land users whose lands are included in the sites. I believe that all those whose lands are proposed for SAC designation must be given an opportunity to object to the proposals on scientific grounds before I formally transmit the list to the Commission.
To this end I have provided an opportunity to landowners and to land users to have their appeals examined informally by Dúchas, the heritage service of my Department. I have also established a formal independent board, chaired by Mr. Michael Mills, the former Ombudsman, and comprising representation from the landowners and the conservation organisations, to independently assess appeals and to advise me on these matters.
The EU Commission has been notified of our proposals in relation to SACs and the reasons for the failure to meet the deadline for transmission of the list of sites to the Commission. The Commission is also aware that, while Ireland is technically not in compliance with the directive, the advertised sites receive full protection under our national legislation.
