Special Areas of Conservation

Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023

Monday, 11 September 2023

Questions (811)

Eoin Ó Broin

Question:

811. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if, in light of the judgment (details supplied), he will provide in tabular form a list of all the areas where the court found there had been a failure to designate them as special areas of conservation, SACs, also indicating if they have been designated since the EU Commission issued its reasoned opinion and on what date they were designated; a list of all the Irish SACs for where there are no site-specific conservation objectives and-or conservation measures; and to indicate where these have been provided subsequent to the reasoned opinion from the Commission; what date they were made; the timeframes envisaged where gaps still persist in respect of designation or provision of site-specific conservation objectives and conservation measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37190/23]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The judgement of the European court was delivered on 29 June 2023.

It is important to note that the findings of the Court relate to the position on 9 January 2019, and do not take account of actions taken since. Significant progress has been made by Ireland in the meantime, across all areas of the case.

The appointment by Government of a Minister of State for Heritage and the subsequent approval in May 2022 of the Government’s dedicated Action Plan for the NPWS has supported significant progress in recent years across all aspects of the case.

More than 92% of our SAC sites (406 sites) have now completed the full, formal designation process by statutory instrument, with the remainder progressing rapidly and on-schedule to be delivered within the next six months.

Site-specific conservation objectives (SSCOs) have been published in respect of all 423 sites in the case.

While there is undoubtedly more work to do on conservation measures, there are Activities Requiring Consent and/or Notifiable Actions in place for every site. These are protective measures to prevent damage, but additional proactive and restorative measures to return habitats and species to favourable condition for all sites will also be required. With the restructuring of the NPWS, a new functional structure has been in place for some 15 months now, including a committed Nature Conservation Directorate.

They are currently developing and rolling out a comprehensive Conservation Measures Programme that is linked to the Conservation Objectives and underpinned by incentives, supports and a collaborative approach. Conservation measures are specific to each site and can involve a wide range of actions – from invasive species removal, woodland management, bog restoration, etc – depending on the habitat and its condition. The overall aim of the programme is to restore and maintain the favourable conservation status of species and habitats across the entire Natura 2000 Network, in accordance with national and international obligations.

The table at the link below lists all sites mentioned in the Case with links to the statutory instruments and site specific conservation objectives for all sites along with the dates that they were published.

www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/files/SAC%20quick%20reference%20table(1).pdf