Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 10 Dec 1997

Vol. 484 No. 4

Written Answers - Afforestation Programme.

John Gormley

Ceist:

32 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the reason Ireland is the only member country of the European Union which is being taken to task by the European Commission for bringing about environmentally destructive afforestation. [22343/97]

Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources (Dr. Woods)

I understand Ireland is not the only EU member state to which the European Commission has addressed complaints regarding their afforestation policies.

With regard to Ireland's position, the European Commission has lodged five complaints over the past five years on issues which include afforestation. Of the five, two relate to phosphorous pollution in lakes and a number of activities, of which afforestation is but one, are cited as being contributory factors. A third relates to an aspect of Ireland's transposition of the EU Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment (85/33/EEC); that is the level at which EIA should be required for certain classes of projects, one of which is afforestation. The remaining two relate solely to afforestation, one to the acidification effects of forestry in County Wicklow and one to damage alleged to have been caused to an Area of Scientific Interest in County Mayo. These complaints are at various stages of investigation and response and may not of course be upheld. I should also emphasise that it is a general condition of grant-aid that forestry development is compatible with the environment and a range of controls are in place for the prevention of environmentally destructive afforestation.