Vol. 483 No. 5
50 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if her attention has been drawn to the considerable damage done to upland areas arising from overgrazing by sheep; the action, if any, she will take in view of the potential danger to bird and wildlife arising from this overgrazing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20654/97]
I am aware of the problem that exists with overgrazing, which applies particularly to areas of commonage in upland areas.
The country's most important wildlife areas are required to be designated either as special protection areas (SPAs) under the 1979 EU Birds Directive, or as special areas of conservation (SACs) under the 1992 EU Habitats Directive. Over 100 SPAs have already been designated in Ireland and the process of designating SACs is well under way, in that the main part of what will be Ireland's SAC network (over 200 sites amounting to some 550,000 ha) has already been publicly proposed for designation and is accordingly protected.
Land in SACs and SPAs will henceforth be required to be farmed in accordance with an approved agri-environmental plan, which will specify, inter alia, the stocking restrictions, if any, required to conserve the land in question. Those participating in the rural environment protection scheme (REPS), administered by the Department of Agriculture and Food, will have a farm plan prepared as part of that scheme. Those who do not wish to join REPS may operate in accordance with a plan prepared by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department. Each individual farm plan impinging on commonage land will have to be compatible with an overall plan for the commonage prepared by my Department in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and Food. This plan will specify the maximum overall stocking density that the area can carry on a sustainable basis.
