Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 21 Mar 1990

Vol. 397 No. 3

Written Answers. - Protection of Wildlife Species.

Garrett Fitzgerald

Ceist:

87 Dr. G. FitzGerald asked the Minister for Finance the steps which have been taken by the Irish Government arising from the adherence of the EC Convention of 3 December 1981 to the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats.

Garrett Fitzgerald

Ceist:

88 Dr. G. FitzGerald asked the Minister for Finance the steps which have been taken to date to give effect to the EC Council Directive of 25 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds.

Minister for Finance (Mr. A. Reynolds)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 87 and 88 together.

Implementation of the convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats is carried out under the provisions of the Wildlife Act, 1976. The same Act also provides for the protection of wild birds in accordance with the EC Directive of 25 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds.

The Wildlife Act 1976 provides for the protection of specified species and their habitats. Species are protected by banning or limiting their exploitation in the wild. It is also an offence to wilfully interfere with or destroy the habitat of a protected species.

I have provided an extra £500,000 for the Wildlife Service for land purchase in 1990 for the purchase of peatlands and this will be used for the purchase of raised and blanket bogs. The target for conservation of these land types is 11,000 hectares for raised bogs and 40,000 hectares for blanket bogs. At present approximately 15,000 hectares of blanket bog is protected and around 1,000 hectares of raised bog.

An extra 84 hectares of land was purchased recently to extend the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve, the home in winter of approximately 40 per cent of the Greenland white-fronted goose, 50 per cent of the population of which winter in Ireland. This extra land will help the population to stabilise and hopefully expand. On the reserve disturbance of the geese is prohibited.

Eighteen sites have been designated for the purposes of the EC Directive 79/409 on the protection of wild birds and further sites are being considered.