Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 July 2012
395 Deputy John O’Mahony asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht further to Parliamentary Question No 292 of 7 February 2012 and Parliamentary Question 249 of 8 May 2012, the progress made on this case; when a decision will issue and when the applicant may expect payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31804/12]
View answerThe individual referred to in the Deputy's Question applied to sell his interest in land within a site designated as a special area of conservation, under the voluntary bog purchase scheme administered by my Department.
In the light of the delays which have arisen in relation to the voluntary bog purchase scheme, I decided that applicants could, if they wished, transfer instead to the compensation scheme established by my Department for those affected by the cessation of turf cutting on raised bog special areas of conservation. This allows applicants to retain ownership of their land holding or rights, while availing of compensation. Officials from my Department wrote to the individual referred to in the Deputy's Question in April to offer him this option, if he wished.
As contracts for sale had been received by my Department, these have recently been forwarded to the Chief State Solicitor's Office to progress the sale.
