Written Answers. - Special Areas of Conservation.
Ulick Burke
Question:
278
Mr. U. Burke
asked the
Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands
if Dúchas will provide a complete list of developments approved or under consideration in proposed or candidate special areas of conservation and special protection areas specifying in each case where Dúchas has or has not made a submission together with the reasons in each case.
[6900/01]
The granting or refusal of approval for proposed developments is a matter for the relevant local planning authority under the Local Government (Planning and Development) Regulations, 1994-99, and the information requested by the Deputy would be a matter for such authorities.
Under this legislation, planning authorities are obliged to notify certain prescribed bodies of planning applications received by them, depending on the impact of the proposed development on the remit of the body concerned. My Department, as the State authority charged with the protection and conservation of the nation's natural and built heritage, is one of the prescribed bodies. Where such applications are referred to the Department they are assessed by Dúchas, the heritage service, and, where feasible, a submission is made to the planning authority. My Department is not a party to such decision making process. Last year it received a total of 8,300 planning and development referrals and where it makes such recommendations it then becomes a matter for the planning authority to determine the application under planning and development law. In view of the large number of applications referred to the Department it would not be practicable, without a considerable amount of work, to say, in respect of each referral, whether my Department made a submission to the respective planning authority and to summarise such individual submissions.
If the Deputy requires details of any particular planning and development assessment by the Department, I would be pleased to have the Department supply it to him.
Ulick Burke
Question:
279
Mr. U. Burke
asked the
Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands
if she will list the exact manner of notification used to inform proposed candidates in SAC and SPA areas; the names of persons personally notified stating in each case whether the person responded; and the steps taken to confirm in each case that the person proposed to be designated had received notification.
[6901/01]
Ulick Burke
Question:
282
Mr. U. Burke
asked the
Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands
the steps Dúchas has taken to make the public aware of the existence of a designated site above the minimum information normally provided; and the steps taken to make this information available to anyone proposed for designation with examples.
[6904/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 279 and 282 together.
I refer the Deputy to Question No. 209 on 29 June 2000 and Question No. 206 on 14 December 2000 in this regard.
Section 4 of the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations, 1997 (S.I. 94 of 1997) specifies procedures in respect of the manner of notification of candidate special areas of conservation. Every effort is made to locate the address, and to notify in writing every occupier-owner of land in a proposed special area of conservation. Such notification includes details of compensation arrangements and appeals mechanisms and a description and a detailed map of the site.
Advertisements appear in the local press detailing the townlands affected by the designations, together with contact names and telephone numbers of conservation rangers who may be contacted for further clarification. Maps of the proposed SACs are displayed in one or more local Garda stations, local authority offices and local offices of the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and Teagasc.
I have undertaken a number of initiatives, additional to the notification requirements pre scribed in the regulations, with a view to further facilitating communication and dialogue with interested parties.
I have provided an opportunity to landowners and land users to have their objections examined informally by Dúchas, the heritage service of my Department. I have also established an appeals advisory board, chaired by Mr. Michael Mills, the former Ombudsman, comprising of equal representation from the landowners and the conservation organisations to assess appeals independently and to advise me on these matters.
I have also provided a freefone service to provide further explanation to interested parties and a website at www.heritagedata.ie. This website provides access to datasets in relation to SACs and provides a site description of the 362 candidate sites transmitted to the European Commission.
The only long-term practical way of ensuring the conservation of wildlife areas is through the co-operation of landowners. I have requested landowners and land users to establish local liaison committees for each site. These committees will be consulted and kept fully informed by officials of my Department about matters relating to the conservation and management of the sites in question. Meetings of such committees have been suspended in the short-term, however, in the current foot and mouth disease emergency.
The Deputy will appreciate that as more than 14,000 landowners have been individually notified in writing in respect of 362 candidate special areas of conservation, it would not be practical to list them all and place details on the public record. In addition, I must respect people's right to privacy. However, if the Deputy requires assistance in relation to particular landowners, I would be happy to provide whatever information is available to me.
Ulick Burke
Question:
280
Mr. U. Burke
asked the
Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands
if Dúchas would specify the number of sites which have been included against the recommendations of appeal boards and provide a complete list together with the complete reasons for each decision.
[6902/01]
I am pleased to advise the Deputy that, to date, I have not rejected any recommendations made to me by the SAC Appeals Advisory Board in relation to boundaries of SAC's.
