Vol. 535 No. 1
488 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands if Mouds Bog in County Kildare is being designated as a special area of conservation; and the steps which are being taken to prevent the removal of peat from this particular area. [12351/01]
Mouds Bog is a raised bog situated 3 km north of Newbridge, County Kildare, and is currently proposed for designation as a natural heritage area under the Wildlife Acts, 1976 to 2000. The site has not been proposed for designation as a special area of conservation under the European Habitats Directive.
The Environmental Protection Agency – EPA – requested Dúchas, the heritage service of my Department, to comment on an application for a pollution control licence received by the EPA from a commercial peat extraction company who wished to harvest from the site. On 16 March 2001, my Department responded to the effect that the extraction of 50 hectares of peat from this site would not be compatible with the conservation of the bog and recommended to the EPA that the licence should be refused. The decision is solely a matter for the EPA.
