Government under pressure to protect nature sites

THE Government is changing nature sites that were designated as in need of protection in response to pressure from landowners and others.

The State is already facing the threat of multi-million euro fines for not completing the list of protected sites 11 years after the EU deadline and is now the only country in Europe in this position.

The European Commission has said it is seriously concerned about the roll-back of areas submitted to it by the Government in the past few years.

They said that in response to representations at national level the Government has agreed to cut out certain orchid-rich grassland from the protected All Saints Bog in the midlands.

The Department of the Environment has admitted they are redrawing boundaries and said they had given commitments in the Social Partnership talks to change sites.

More sites may be changed if objections are received on foot of advertisements the department is planning, a spokesman said.

“There is a consultation period during which land owners can object and the minister can change the designation if the landowner makes his case,” he said.

The commission said public consultations were part of the process of drawing up the list of protected sites but they understood they had received the definitive list based on consultation and scientific advice carried out some time ago.

“We have serious concerns about a roll-back of areas already presented following the redrawing of boundaries,” commission spokesman Barbara Helfferich said.

The Government agreed at EU level to designate areas for protection and was to have completed the consultation and studies between 1992 and 1995.

Only after the commission took them to court in 2001 did they begin to submit sites as part of the European network of Natura 2000.

Significant advances were made up to 2004 but since then progress has stalled, Ms Helfferich said.

Including sites on the list is particularly important for Ireland because unlike other countries it does not have a national network of national parks and nature reserves.

“This is the first and last line of protection as the Government did not go ahead with a plan to create a network of national natural heritage areas,” an environment expert said.

Germany that was before the court at the same time as Ireland has since met the requirements while France is making substantial progress on the issue.

The only outstanding country now is Ireland.

The commission closed a case against Ireland on the protection of shellfish waters from water pollution after safeguards were put in place.