Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State will be well aware that environmental designation of land can have a severe impact on the ability of human beings to pursue legitimate socioeconomic objectives. I point to the western seaboard, and the west in general, as an example of where most of the lands designated as SACs are located. Contrary to what one might assume, a major road can run through an SAC and still be designated as an SAC. An attempt to take a dangerous turn out of that road will be crippled. It takes years. I can point to an example in the Minister of State's constituency. I refer to the N59 from Galway to Clifden. The amount of investigation that has gone on involving the National Parks and Wildlife Service is ridiculous. There have been 17 consultations concerning the decision to improve that road. The Minister of State knows the lie of the land there better than I do. I can, however, vouch for the same problem in County Mayo. We are years behind. Taxpayers have spent millions of euro trying to find transport solutions in respect of the N26. That has been held back by freshwater pearl mussels and by alluvial woodland. If the Minister of State went down there now, looked at the road and at either side of it, he would ask what is the problem.

We are not talking about virgin wilderness or where people went into bogs. These areas where there is a legitimate objective for human beings to develop, prosper and grow. Finally, when the Minister of State returns the next day perhaps he might be able to give us some information on the conservation objectives set out under the habitats and birds directives. They have been put in place in respect of each SAC by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. When are we going to have management plans for each of those so we can get a better balance between wildlife and human beings? It is not happening. There is massive frustration that it takes years to get a pokey road upgraded whereas other parts of the country can build superhighways. They have them done. That situation is putting us behind from a socioeconomic point of view. It has to be addressed.