EU criticises State over wild habitats

Ireland has again been criticised by the EU over the State's protection of vulnerable habitats.

The Republic has been told it must find agreement with non-governmental agencies on the amount and size of the Irish sites and their designation for protective measures. In the absence of agreement the EU is to send in its own assessors.

The EU decision, taken at an Atlantic Biogeographical seminar in the Netherlands on Friday, raised concern about 27 of 59 identified habitats in the Republic.

The seminar judged that protective measures in 13 habitats were insufficient, while it reserved judgment in a further 14 cases as there was some debate about the value of scientific data available.

The seminar was told of a "shadow list" detailing the conditions of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), which was part-funded by the Heritage Council and was submitted to the EU last year.

Five Irish non-governmental agencies (NGOs) including An Taisce, BirdWatch Ireland, the Irish Wildlife Trust and Coastwatch Europe were responsible for the list, which challenged many of Ireland's SACs as insufficient.

The list contained many differences of opinion from the record kept by the Government. It had previously been rejected in its entirety by the minister at the time, Ms Síle de Valera.

The Irish NGOs were represented at The Hague by Dr Peter Foss of the Irish Peatland Council.

In advance of the negotiations between the State and the NGOs, the EU has decided there should be more SACs in a number of areas. These include orchid-rich grasslands; active and degraded raised bog; residual alluvial forests, lagoons, vegetation of stony banks, alpine heaths, petrifying springs and alkaline fens.

In the case of raised bogs, the NGOs and Dúchas disagreed about the amount of raised bog of conservation importance left in Ireland.

The Commission warned it would send an independent expert to adjudicate if agreement was not reached at the national level with the NGOs.

Disputed habitats about which the EU has withheld its decision under the heading "Scientific Reserve" include sand banks; reefs, humid dune slacks, vegetated sea cliffs, bog woodland, wet heaths, dry heaths, lowland hay meadows and caves not open to the public.