Vol. 492 No. 6
2 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the position in relation to the special areas of conservation; the degree to which compliance has been made with European Union directives; when a full list of sites was or will be submitted; the meetings, if any, she has with conservation and farming organisations; and the arrangements and timescale for payment of compensation she has put in place. [14682/98]
The EU habitats directive requires member states to propose, on the basis of specified scientific criteria, relevant natural areas for designation as special areas of conservation, SACs, to protect their favourable conservation status and to transmit a list of the proposed areas, with full information on each site, within three years of the date of the notification of the directive to the EU Commission.
The directive was transposed into Irish law by means of the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations, 1997 (SI No. 94/97). The main part of Ireland's SAC network has, since March 1997, been publicly advertised for SAC and receives legal protection in Ireland from that date.
The only long-term practical way of ensuring the conservation of these important wildlife areas is to acquire the co-operation of land owners and land users. To this end, I have insisted that additional consultation takes place with those whose lands or land rights are affected. I anticipate that all outstanding issues will be resolved shortly. I should also point out that under the regulations a full list cannot issue until all appeals have been resolved.
The EU has been notified of our proposals in relation to SACs and the reasons the list of sites has not yet been transmitted to the Commission. The Commission is also aware that, while Ireland is technically not in compliance with the directive, the advertised sites receive full protection under our national legislation.
My Department and I have had numerous meetings with farming, conservation and other interested parties and these meetings are ongoing.
Individuals whose land is included in SACs may receive compensation, either through participation in the rural environment protection scheme administered by the Department of Agriculture and Food, or through payment for actual income loss arising out of operating an approved farms plan.
I am grateful to the Minister for her reply. Could she indicate the number of meetings she has had with farming organisations and conservation groups? In a reply to an earlier written question the number of meetings with local groups was broken down by county, for which I am grateful, but I am anxious to complete the information. Also, what is the timescale for compensation? I wish the Minister well in completing this but perhaps she could give the projected date.
I can furnish the Deputy at a later date with a list of the conservation groups I have met. I am concerned that we should hear more than one side of the argument. To me a consultation means trying to consult every group as far as possible and that continues to be my intention. We have had meetings with other national organisations and will have further meetings with farming organisations also.
The timescale will be affected by the compensation, as the Deputy is aware, and by the establishment of the appeals tribunal to which decisions can be referred. Much work was done in this regard by him when he was Minister. However, I want to change the approach to the appeals system so that local landowners will have the opportunity to have a direct say — that would be an addition to the procedures introduced by the Deputy. These structures were not in place and it is only recently that the REP scheme has been agreed between the Department of Agriculture and Food and the Commission. The farm plans have to be prepared and I hope that will happen in the next few weeks. Compensation payments will come on stream shortly after that. That is how I see it at present. It was important to put the mechanisms and structures in place and then we can use the appeals system.
The additions the Minister suggests to the appeals mechanism I proposed are the local liaison committees. I welcome them but can the Minister assure me that both sides of the argument will be represented on those committees as they are on the existing mechanism — in other words, that they will contain a farming representative, a conservation representative and a neutral chairperson? Given that successive Governments have gone to great lengths to be even-handed, it would be curiously unbalanced to have only one side of the argument represented on a local liaison committee. People in a locality, whether they own land or not, are interested in conservation. Will people other than land users be represented on local liaison committees?
The Deputy referred to a neutral chairperson, which is important, and I am sure all Members will welcome the presence in that capacity of Mr. Michael Mills, as he has done similar work on behalf of the public in other circumstances. I think he will prove to be eminent in this role also.
The appeals board has exactly the same makeup as provided for by Deputy Higgins. There are equal numbers of land owners and people representing conservation groups. I am wary of talking about conservationists versus landowners because most landowners are also conservationists.
