Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 78: To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will reconsider the proposed designation of special areas of conservation in the parish of Cloughaneely, including the island of Toraigh, taking into account the dwindling human population in the area, and in view of the already very strict planning conditions that govern this area. [25318/11]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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My Department is currently engaged in a roll out of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) nationwide. An adverse Judgement delivered by the European Court of Justice against Ireland in December 2007 for failure to comply with the requirements of the Birds Directive means Ireland must deliver on this programme of work in order to meet the requirements of the Judgement and to remedy perceived deficiencies in the designation of existing SPAs.

The area in question is one of a number of Corncrake sites that have been specifically selected to encourage the re-population of these traditional breeding sites for the Corncrake. These sites are of high ornithological importance as they are now strongholds for Corncrake. The Corncrake is listed on the 2010 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. It should be noted that Oileán Thoraigh had previously been designated as an SPA. The designation of this site as a SPA does not mean there is a prohibition on further development or activities within the site. Development in this area would, as ever, go through normal planning processes and be subject to assessment from an environmental perspective.