Vol. 483 No. 3
324 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if she will provide Deputy Joe Higgins with copies of submissions made to her Department on the White Strand, Doonbeg, County Clare special area of conservation. [20259/97]
A number of submissions was made to my Department relating to this site, ranging from single letters to quite large documents with many pages, and it would be impractical to furnish copies to the Deputy in this context. However, I am more than happy that the Deputy should be able to inspect all relevant papers and, if he wishes to do this, perhaps he would contact my private secretary who will arrange an appointment for him to view the file in the Offices of the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
325 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if she will provide Deputy Joe Higgins with a list of special areas of conservation and special protection areas which have been modified since first drafted by staff of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. [20260/97]
Changes to the special areas of conservation — SAC — designation proposals which were advertised earlier this year are only countenanced where the National Parks and Wildlife Service — NPWS — considers this to be justified on scientific grounds. In some cases, NPWS has indicated to affected persons that boundary changes appear to be justified, but these have not yet been collated into a single list. Consequently, the list requested by the Deputy is not available at this time. However, before any formal change is made to the proposed site boundaries already published, new maps, showing the extent of the revised proposals, will be publicly advertised and notified to individuals thought to be affected.
The published boundaries of special protection areas have not been changed to date.
326 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if she will provide Deputy Joe Higgins with copies of all submissions made to Wicklow County Council, the Department of the Environment and Local Government and the European Commission regarding the proposed Glen of the Downs, County Wicklow road development. [20261/97]
The National Parks and Wildlife Service, which was at the time part of the Office of Public Works, made submissions to Wicklow County Council and the then Department of the Environment in relation to the proposed road improvement at the Glen of the Downs. No submissions were made to the European Commission. I have arranged for copies of relevant submissions to be forwarded to the Deputy.
327 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if she will provide Deputy Joe Higgins with a list of all scientific reports either by the staffs of the National Parks and Wildlife Services or commissioned by them. [20262/97]
No list as such is kept of scientific reports prepared and commissioned by the National Parks and Wildlife Service — NPWS. The Deputy will appreciate that NPWS is involved with many hundreds of sites and species all over the country and it would not be practicable to compile such a list. If the Deputy would like to indicate a specific area of interest, however, I will seek to provide any relevant information as can reasonably be collated.
