Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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312. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the management measures that the National Parks and Wildlife Service is putting in place to prevent further deterioration of the biodiversity at Lough Hyne, Skibbereen, west County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3530/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Lough Hyne is protected as a designated Statutory Nature Reserve, and also as a designated Special Area of Conservation.

The “within site” activities identified as having the potential to negatively impact on Lough Hyne are governed by the Lough Hyne Regulations (S.I. No. 207 of 1981) and include the regulation of activities such as limited traditional fishing, removal of flora and fauna for scientific research by academic institutions and recreational scuba diving. A permit system for these activities is implemented, enforced and monitored by National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) officers of my Department.

Other commercial recreational activities such as kayaking and paddle boarding operations are governed by the more recently instituted Lough Hyne Special Area of Conservation Regulations (S.I. No. 549 of 2021). Consent is given for these operations only after they have been screened for any negative impacts on the SAC designated habitats in compliance with the Birds and Habitats Regulations S.I. No. 477 of 2011. This consent system is implemented and monitored by NPWS officers.

Research carried out by both University College Cork and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated that high nutrient levels have been recorded within the Lough but the EPA study (EPA Strive Report 2011) stated that “the high nutrient levels are part of a wider coastal problem, and not from localised inputs”.

The NPWS of my Department is currently supporting further scientific research on reported biodiversity loss ,particularly of the sponge fauna, and financial supports to assist in this research have been committed to for the next three years.