Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 513: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will make a statement on the situation regarding Dúchas stopping work on the development of a football pitch on Inis Mór, Aran Islands (details supplied). [36500/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The football pitch referred to is on machair habitat within the Inis Mór candidate special area of conservation, cSAC. Planning permission for its development was obtained in 2000. Because of the implications of the development for the SAC habitat, my Department provided advice to Galway County Council and the planning applicants in relation to necessary mitigation measures. For this purpose, advice was also obtained from an expert on soil conditions for playing pitches to the effect that importation of topsoil from outside the site was unnecessary and should not be undertaken.

In the light of current concerns about the condition of the pitch, I understand that the same expert has been asked to visit the site in the very near future to confirm whether his advice that the pitch can be satisfactorily maintained without importation of topsoil is still valid. Any proposed development of this site beyond the specification approved by the planning permission could require the submission of a further planning application.