Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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224. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views on the policy proposal to issue afforestation licences for special areas of conservation, SACs, and special protection areas, SPAs; if she has had discussions in this regard at EU level and or with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine on same; her further views on whether such afforestation would be consistent with the management objectives of the sites concerned as the lead authority in charge of implementing Natura 2000; and her plans to carry out a review regarding these objectives. [41681/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Forestry is an important activity in Ireland, with many and varied benefits. There are however procedures and obligations set out in the EU Birds and Habitats Directives and they must be followed by licensing authorities in relation to SACs and SPAs and their habitats and species. A key protection mechanism, in Article 6 of the Habitats Directive, and which applies also to the Birds Directive, is the requirement to consider the implications of any plan or project for the conservation objectives of such a site, through appropriate assessment, before any decision is made to allow that plan or project to proceed. In brief, if the assessment procedure shows there is no significant risk of impact, then a project may proceed.

Officials in my Department are in contact with the European Commission in regard to the obligations of Article 6 of the Habitats Directive, and guidance on same, on a frequent basis. They also are in frequent contact with officials of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

My Department is currently working on completion of site-specific conservation objectives for SACs and SPAs and therefore a review is not scheduled at this time.