Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 420: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will make a statement on the appeals process in relation to special areas of conservation; the average length of time taken; and the longest period of time taken to decide an appeal. [6862/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Any landowner or person with a legal interest in land proposed for designation as part of a special area of conservation, SAC, may lodge an objection to my Department, on scientific grounds, to have the proposed designation reviewed. Three months are allowed for lodging such appeals.

The first stage of the appeals process is an internal review within the national parks and wildlife service, NPWS, of my Department. To initiate this process an appellant must contact an official of NPWS either locally, usually the local conservation ranger, or at headquarters. An appeal must be accompanied by a map indicating a clear outline of the area under appeal. Local staff then visit the site as a basis for re-examining the scientific grounds for including the specific area under appeal in the SAC, and submitting a recommendation for decision at a more senior level. The decision may be to grant the appeal, in full or for part of the land, or to reject it. The appellant is then informed of the outcome.

The second stage of the appeals process is only invoked when an appellant is dissatisfied with the outcome of the first stage, and is given the option to have the appeal referred for consideration by the nature conservation designation appeals advisory board. This is a non-statutory board, independently chaired and with equal representation of landowners, users and conservationists, which has the role of providing independent advice to the Minister on appeals.

A sample analysis of appeals dealt with in 2004 indicates that the first stage took on average 14 weeks from the date of the appellant's letter to the issue of the letter advising the appellant of the outcome. My officials are taking steps to eliminate causes of delay, so that the first stage of the appeal process in the vast majority of cases can be completed within six weeks of receipt from the appellant of a clear indication of the area under appeal.

Appeals which are referred to the nature conservation designation appeals advisory board necessarily take longer to complete. The process includes the preparation by each side of a scientific case in relation to the specific lands under appeal, an opportunity for each side to comment in writing on the opposing scientific case, the scheduling of an appeals board hearing which always includes a visit to the site, and the provision of a recommendation for decision by me.

There are cases where the process from lodging of an appeal to a final decision has taken up to three years, but these are exceptional and due to a variety of causes. Seasonal factors applying to the assessment of particular habitats and species can be a significant cause of delays. In some cases appellants themselves have chosen not to proceed with presentation of their cases, sometimes for considerable periods of time. In other cases there have been ongoing discussions between the Department and appellants with a view to resolving issues underlying the appeal. Substantial progress was made by the appeals board in 2004 in clearing outstanding appeals awaiting consideration by the board.