Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

544. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she has received an application from Leitrim County Council to designate north Leitrim as a national park; the process by which such an application will be considered and the timescale of this consideration; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22865/16]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

While a representation was received from a member of Leitrim County Council on this matter, no formal application has been received by my Department to date.

My Department is responsible for Ireland’s six National Parks, which are managed as Category II protected areas in accordance with guidelines set down by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN, also known as the World Conservation Union, has United Nations Observer Status and is the accepted international authority for setting criteria for the management of protected areas for nature conservation.

The IUCN define a Category II protected area as ‘large natural or near natural areas set aside to protect large-scale ecological processes, along with the complement of species and ecosystems characteristic of the area, which also provide a foundation for environmentally and culturally compatible spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational and visitor opportunities’.

The representation I received called for the proposed National Park to encompass all of the Municipal District of Manorhamilton from Tullaghan to Lough Allen. There are rural and urban areas as well as diverse land uses across this part of North Leitrim.

When a formal application to designate this part of North Leitrim as a National Park is received, it will be given due consideration, taking into account, amongst other things, my Department’s current strategy for managing and designating protected areas for nature conservation, the level of support for a National Park amongst the people of Leitrim, and the resources available for a project of this scale.