Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 107: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the procedure to have a piece of property listed for protection where the property is an esker with extremely old trees on it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17589/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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To date, nine eskers have been protected as candidate Special Areas of Conservation because of the presence of orchid-rich grassland, a priority habitat under the EU Habitats Directive. However eskers without this habitat have not been prioritised for such protection.

Eskers with ancient trees may warrant protection by designation as Natural Heritage Areas. Interested parties may contact my Department with information on such sites, so that they may be assessed for their conservation value and considered for legal protection as NHAs. It is also open to a local authority to use their powers under Section 205 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 to make provisions for the protection of certain trees in the interests of amenity or the environment.