Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 181: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of objections that have been received in relation to each of the named sites that are to be designated as special protection areas for the hen harrier in the list of proposed designation sites; if he will summarise the broad thrust of these objections; if he will be able to meet the objectors' concerns; when a final decision will be made in relation to the designation of the sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25126/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Some 804 objections were received to the proposals to designate 6 Hen Harrier sites as Special Protection Areas (SPAs). Of these, 60 were deemed to be invalid. My Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is currently in the process of assessing the 744 valid objections. Approximately three-quarters of these relate to requests to have land removed from the SPA, with the remainder requesting land to be included. The number of objections per site is as follows:

There is a two-stage process for assessing objections. The first stage is an internal scientific review of the area under objection. Following completion of this stage, objectors dissatisfied with the outcome may have their case referred to an independent Appeals Advisory Board. I envisage that the internal review stage of all objections will be completed by end September 2008. The timeframe for the second stage review will depend on the number of cases that are referred to the Appeals Advisory Board.