I propose to take Questions Nos. 610 to 612, inclusive, together.
A natural heritage area is considered important for the habitats present or for the species of plants and animals it holds whose habitat needs protection. Natural heritage areas are designated under the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000 and are legally protected from negative impacts from the date they are formally proposed for designation through a requirement to obtain Ministerial consent before certain potentially damaging activities are undertaken on these sites.
The criteria to which the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht shall have regard to, when publishing a notice of an intention to designate a natural heritage area, are set out in section 16(6) of the Act of 2000.
When a landowner has been refused Ministerial consent to carry out certain proposed works in a natural heritage area, a claim for compensation may be made to my Department not later than 6 months from the date of issue of the decision refusing consent. The provisions relating to compensation are set out in section 22 of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000. In this regard, as there are legal proceedings ongoing, taken by the landowner referred to in the Deputy’s Question, it would not be appropriate for me to refer further to matters which are the subject of these proceedings.
The Review of Raised Bog Natural Heritage Area Network, published in January 2014, which is available to download from my Department’s website, provides detail on future arrangements regarding turf cutting on each of the 75 current raised bog natural heritage areas. The Review
has concluded that Ireland could more effectively achieve conservation of threatened raised bog habitat through focused protection and restoration of a reconfigured network. This will entail the phasing out of turf cutting on certain natural heritage areas by 1 January 2017 and the partial or complete de-designation of certain natural heritage areas.
46 raised bog natural heritage areas (including parts of 7 natural heritage areas) are scheduled for de-designation. As set out in correspondence to affected persons in February 2014, restrictions on turf cutting for domestic purposes will not come into effect on these sites. However, the consent of other authorities may be required in order to undertake turf extraction on these sites in certain circumstances, for example, commercial peat extraction.
Regulatory change will be required to give full effect to the de-designation of the sites. The appropriate form of this change is being considered within my Department and I expect that the process will be completed by early 2016.
To compensate for the loss of habitat within sites where it is proposed that turf cutting can continue, 25 undesignated raised bogs, which are in public ownership or where there is reduced turf cutting pressure, will be designated as natural heritage areas. The current compensation arrangements for domestic turf cutters in raised bog special areas of conservation will be made available to affected turf cutters in the relevant natural heritage areas.
The necessary preparatory work in order for these sites to be proposed for designation is ongoing. This work includes the delineation of proposed boundaries, the preparation of site maps and the compilation of the details of landowners and others who may be affected by the proposed designations.
As with all designations, my Department will, in due course, directly contact individual landowners and users in the relevant areas and advertisements will be placed in local newspapers. An explanation will be given as to why a site is being proposed for designation and of the process through which individuals can appeal against the designation of their lands.
