Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am delighted the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, is here to take this question. I raised it last week and still have a number of questions arising from the response I got from the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke.

The background to this matter is that works carried out in Emo Court appear to have been done without the necessary derogation licence and inevitably led to the disturbance of a significant long-eared brown bat roost. In regard to the timeline, the works were detected in November 2019 and an inspection by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, followed in December 2019. That found there was very little evidence of bats at that stage other than swept-up bat droppings and a dead bat. In response to that inspection a letter was sent to the Office of Public Works, OPW, at Emo Court to say the works as proposed and already carried out may be contrary to the legislation and inadequate protection was put in place. An ecological report that stated the mitigation was inappropriate and could not prevent disturbance to the bats was ignored and on that basis no further works were to be done pending the outcome of the investigation report.

The question today arises from the fact that last week we heard they were emergency works. We know that is not the case because a scoping exercise was carried out with the ecologists and the basement was clearly listed as planned works. They were not emergency works. I have been working on this for a number of months, trying to get to the bottom of what exactly took place. It appears that one arm of the State was very concerned about the actions that were taking place at Emo Court and the fact that they were done without a derogation licence. However, another arm of the State, the OPW, is saying that is not the case and that they were emergency works. The first parliamentary question response I had was a complete denial that the works took place at all or that any bats were disturbed.

Will the Minister of State release the report that was carried out by the National Parks and Wildlife Service in January 2020 with the full list of recommendations? Can he confirm that on that investigation there was a recommendation for prosecution, given the fact that the OPW had carried out works that were not licensed and that led to the disturbance of the bat roost? They are the questions at the nub of this issue. Is it the case that the National Parks and Wildlife Service recommended a prosecution and somebody, at some point, has intervened to make sure that did not happen? In that case, there would be a very serious situation where we would have senior civil servants deciding on who should or should not be prosecuted. That is the simple question. Will the Minister of State release that report, with its recommendations unredacted? Can he confirm or deny if the recommendation for prosecution was made?

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will respond to the question on the Commencement and these are additional, if that is okay. My Department has a very strong relationship with our colleagues in the OPW, with the OPW holding statutory responsibility for the day-to-day maintenance of a large number of monuments and buildings in the ownership of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. These sites can of course be complex, spanning both our built and natural heritage and equally spanning protections and controls under various pieces of legislation including the National Monuments Acts, the planning Acts and the Wildlife Acts. The National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department maintains an ongoing contact with the OPW in regard to its obligations under the wildlife Acts.

Departmental officials are happy to work with the OPW and with local authorities and any other public authorities, in order to assist them in meeting these obligations. For example, to assist public authorities in meeting their obligation with respect to strict protection given by EU law to bats and their roosts, the NPWS will shortly publish a series of guidance documents dealing with the practical aspects of bat conservation.A guidance document for public authorities entitled Strict Protection of Animal Species is also available on the NPWS website. This guidance is intended to assist in the application of Article 12 and Article 16 of the habitats directive to ensure that works are compliant with these articles.

To cite one recent example, a member of the NPWS visited and reviewed works at a castle site, advised on the works then being undertaken and future proposed works, and was satisfied that the works at the time were unlikely to cause disturbance to bats. He further advised on the requirement for oversight in works and the potential requirement to apply for a derogation licence for future works. We are aware that the OPW has subsequently appointed specialists who are now monitoring works on site. The Department remains in regular contact with the OPW and is satisfied that a derogation licence will be sought for future works given the potential impacts.

On concerns specifically regarding a bat roost at Emo Court, the NPWS is in ongoing contact with the OPW regarding its obligations under the wildlife and birds and habitats legislation on the important hibernation and breeding roosts at Emo Court for brown long-eared bats, soprano pipistrelles and Leisler's bats, which are the main species that have been identified there. I am informed by the OPW that Bat Conservation Ireland undertook three surveys at Emo Court in 2021 and the surveying records indicate a stable population of bats in line with levels recorded in the 2012-20 period. In 2022, Bat Conservation Ireland will carry out three further systematic counts to monitor the continued health of the roost in Emo Court.

To conclude, it is my strong view that this ongoing good working relationship provides the best and most efficient means of protecting wildlife and our built heritage sites in the care of the OPW.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. It goes back again to the point that it is clear that the works were carried out without a licence. I contacted the NPWS, requesting all of the derogation licences that were granted to Emo Court for the works. There is no licence for the works that were carried out in November and December of 2019. Therefore, that is an offence. If it was not for the colleges flagging this and reporting and reporting it to the NPWS, the later bat conservation surveys probably would not be as optimistic. This is just one example where there were plastic bags shoved into the passageways, trying to prevent the bats re-entering the building. That was on the basis of the report that was made by the NPWS. We are in a biodiversity crisis, and if a State body such as the OPW is stuffing plastic bags into holes to prevent bats entering a building or carrying out works without licences, we do not stand much of a chance when it comes to the private sector living up to its obligations under the law. Again, I ask the Minister of State to release the report on the investigation of the works that were carried out in November and December of 2019.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will make inquiries on that report. I go back to my point about the good working relationship that we have with the OPW in relation to built heritage sites in its care. We are also working on a proposal for a voluntary continuous professional development scheme to equip private and public contractors with practical skills, knowledge and awareness of ecology and environmental law, as well as best practice in terms of risk management. This is something that is ongoing in our Department and we are working specifically on that. As the Senator rightly said, we are in the depths of a biodiversity crisis and it is something we need to work collectively and collaboratively on. I will get back to her on that.