Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No problem. I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply on behalf of the Department. It deals quite clearly with the process to date on where we are. It states that the appeals process is now concluded and the site has moved to the final stages of the process, which requires the publication of the statutory instrument formally designating the site.

There is a certainty and I know all areas got protection once the site got candidate status. However, from reading this, there will be no future opportunities, under what it says here, for any sort of minor appeals or changes to the boundary. It is something that may be relevant not just in the Connemara Bog Complex, but indeed to all special areas of conservation, SACs, around the country. As I stated, people accept that SACs are with us and are required under European law and people are learning to live with them, though they are not always happy and I appreciate that. However, I just would be concerned that this excludes any chance of an appeal into the future. I hope the Department can keep that in mind.