Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Perhaps I do. The Government amendments seeks to respect the decision that was made in the Seanad. We moved out the prescriptive element of specifying greenways or golf courses. It was already in amendment No. 4 and that was rejected.

Regarding the NHA review, we will have to look at all criteria. The Deputies referred to the provision regarding "national, regional and local economic, social and cultural needs" and other criteria. These considerations will have to be balanced against other criteria such as restoration potential and the environmental criteria. The position of greenways or golf courses could be considered as a factor in dedesignation on a case-by-case basis but these other factors and objectives would have to be weighed up. It would still have to go through the normal regulatory and planning process. We tried to respect the decision that was made in the Seanad by leaving that broad approach and without being prescriptive but also noting that any proposal to dedesignate would have to go through a very rigorous process.

Deputy Murphy asked about dedesignation generally. What we are achieving from this is a greater area of high nature value peatlands protection across a much wider geographic range. We are achieving better outcomes for our objectives. The NHA review has been a really comprehensive assessment. On he basis of the review, we weighed up environmental restoration potential, social and economic factors and took a detailed assessment of 270 raised bogs, 75 raised bog NHAs and 110 undesignated sites. Sites that continue to be designated were identified as well as those for dedesignation. Our efforts were focused on achieving the best quality in terms of category one, that is, restoration potential. We have achieved that. From that process, we have ended up with a higher proportion of designated land, higher land area, better-quality outcomes and reduced need for the intervention of the turf cutting scheme, whereby some 3,000 turbary rights are being reduced to approximately 500. There is a reduced cost on the State and a better environmental outcome as well.

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