Vol. 543 No. 4
156 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands if she has received complaints regarding the application of special areas of conservation on foot of the EU habitats directive; the most common cause for complaint with a view to providing a solution; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27337/01]
The EU Habitats Direc tive – 92/43/EEC – requires member states to propose relevant natural areas for designation as special areas of conservation for the conservation of listed habitats and species and to protect their favourable conservation status. The directive was transposed into Irish law in February 1997 by means of the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations, 1997. A total of 363 sites covering almost one million hectares of land and water have been formally transmitted to the Commission.
It has been the experience of Dúchas, the heritage service of my Department, that the most common cause for complaints in respect of SACs has emanated from landowners who objected to the proposed designation of their land. To deal with these complaints, I have placed emphasis on initial notification and consultation, wide publication of proposals, the provision of a comprehensive appeal mechanism, including the establishment by me of an SAC appeals advisory board chaired by the former Ombudsman, Mr. Michael Mills, setting up local liaison committees and the provision of compensation to those suffering actual losses as a result of the designation. To date, a total of 756 appeals in relation to SAC boundaries have been lodged. The vast majority of these have been resolved through informal review by Dúchas staff. A total of 136 appeals have been referred for consideration to the SAC advisory board. To date, I have accepted all the board's recommendations on SAC boundaries.
