Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 June 2014
84. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the total acreage of lands protected under special areas of conservation or natural heritage areas currently; the extent to which any new areas are pending; the degree to which SACs or NHAs have been extended over the past 15 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24956/14]
View answerSome 707,000 hectares of the SAC network is regarded as terrestrial, or above the High Water Mark, with some 57,000 hectares of the NHA network in the same category. This includes inland water bodies. In addition, some 1,200 hectares, also defined as terrestrial, are within both an SAC and NHA. The designation process of Ireland’s SACs, of which there are 429, began in 1997 and will be completed in the near future. Over that period, to comply with the requirements of the Habitats Directive and in response to a European Court of Justice finding against Ireland, additional sites were proposed for designation and the boundaries of certain sites were increased.
Two further raised bog SACs will be proposed for designation later this year, as outlined in the draft National Raised Bog SAC Management Plan which was published for consultation earlier this year. There are currently 155 NHAs. The Review of the Raised Bog Natural Heritage Area Network, also published earlier this year, proposes the complete or partial de-designation of 46 existing raised bog NHAs and the designation of an additional 25 new sites. I expect to be in a position to progress these designations later this year.
