Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2020
1327. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if an up-to-date map of the special areas of conservation in the Strandhill area, County Sligo will be provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4714/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra1328. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if new signage will be erected advising the public of the location of special areas of conservation in the sand dunes in the Strandhill area of County Sligo; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4715/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1327 and 1328 together.
I understand that the candidate special areas of conservation referred to in the Deputy’s Questions are Ballysadare Bay candidate special area of conservation (site code 000622) and Cummeen Strand/Drumcliff Bay (Sligo Bay) candidate special area of conservation (site code 000627). Ballysadare Bay and Cummeen Strand/Drumcliff Bay (Sligo Bay) were publicly notified as candidate special areas of conservation in 1997. The boundary for both sites was mapped using Irish Grid co-ordinates on the reduced scale six-inch maps.
In 2016 the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department commenced the process of transposing the boundaries of all special area of conservation sites from Irish Grid/six-inch maps to ITM/1:5000 maps.
The Irish Grid/six-inch maps are available for Ballysadare Bay and Cummeen Strand/Drumcliff Bay (Sligo Bay) candidate special areas of conservation on the website of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department at www.npws.ie . The ITM/1:5000 maps for the sites will be available on this website when the sites have been formally designated as special areas of conservation by Statutory Instrument.
The sites are not in my ownership as Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Accordingly, the issue of signage at these sites would be a matter for the local authority.
