Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 81: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the reason for a three-year delay in dealing with appeals on the proposed designation of lands as a special area of conservation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9285/06]

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 and have the proposed designation reviewed. Three months are allowed to lodge 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 through the local conservation ranger, or at headquarters. Each appeal must be accompanied by a map indicating a clear outline of the area under appeal. Local staff then visit the site to re-examine the scientific grounds for including the specific area under appeal in the SAC, and submit a recommendation for decision at a more senior level. A decision will be made 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. He or she 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 land owners or users and conservationists. It provides independent advice to the Minister on appeals. A sample analysis of appeals dealt with since January 2005 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.

Appeals referred to the Nature Conservation Designation Appeals Advisory Board take longer to complete. The process includes the preparation of a scientific case on the specific lands under appeal by each side, 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.

The process from lodging an appeal to a final decision has taken up to three years in some cases, 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 delay. In some cases, appellants have chosen not to proceed with the presentation of their cases, sometimes for considerable periods of time. Other cases involve 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 2005 in clearing outstanding appeals awaiting consideration by the board.