Special Areas of Conservation

435. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider publishing a partial SAC management plan to cover salmon restoration actions for this environmental emergency given the Boyne salmon stocks only achieving 10 percent of its conservation limit, a qualifying interest for the Boyne /Kells Blackwater SAC; and if he will make a statement on the…

436. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 620 of 27 January 2026 and 200 of 18 February 2026, the circumstances or criteria that apply in order for an SAC management plan to be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50923/26]

376. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the National Parks and Wildlife Service has considered conducting updated ecological or geological surveys in the Murphy’s Rock area in light of evolving biodiversity mapping standards and climate resilience considerations. [36340/26]

378. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether Cork County Council has engaged with his Department or the National Parks and Wildlife Service regarding conservation, heritage, biodiversity, or tourism-related designation opportunities connected to Murphy’s Rock. [36342/26]

379. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any geological assessment has been undertaken regarding the suitability of the Murphy’s Rock area for potential UNESCO Global Geopark-related consideration. [36343/26]

380. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department maintains any formal review mechanism for reconsidering areas previously assessed but not recommended for Natural Heritage Area designation. [36344/26]

381. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the absence of updated ecological surveys in areas previously considered for designation presents any risk to the State’s biodiversity monitoring obligations under EU environmental law. [36345/26]

568. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of funding that is available for Pillar Two of the EU Life Strategic Nature Project to advance the implementation of the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive in relation to Lady's Island Lake SAC and Tacumshin Lake SAC; the proposed actions and timescales relating to the Pillar Two element o…

1128. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures his Department is implementing so that Lough Corrib and the Corrib River in County Galway can achieve a 'High Ecological Status' as referenced in the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20719/26]

632. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the SACs designated for grey seal on the coast of Ireland; the measures currently in place to protect seals; and to specify the conservation objectives of these areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14050/26]

817. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether he will issue a fishery natura declaration for SAC areas designated for grey seals, including the Blaskets, in light of the recent report from the Marine Institute on the impact of tangle nets on protected species; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14051/26]

391. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps being taken by his Department to address ‘unfavourable’ conservation status of 90% of Ireland’s protected habitats, according to the “The Status of EU Protected Habitats and Species in Ireland, 2025: Summary Report”; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13963/26]

200. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 620 of 27 January 2026, the threshold at which his Department is required to design bespoke plans for specific SAC sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13068/26]

647. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider introducing a Bill for Lough Corrib SAC, which mirrors the intentions of the proposed 2023 Private Members’ River Boyne Task Force Bill 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7520/26]

1414. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps that have been taken to date in response to the request for a SAC designation of a site (details supplied); the timeframe for action on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [75060/25]

351. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when Lough Corrib became a candidate special area of conservation, considering that there are conflicting dates on the public record, both domestic and European; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68968/25]

352. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail the relevant agencies and local angling stakeholders the National Parks and Wildlife Service engaged with to prevent the introduction of the invasive demon shrimp (dikerogammarus haemobaphes) into Lough Corrib SAC, considering that the species has now been found in Portumna, County Galway; and if he…

353. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department and the National Parks and Wildlife Service still follow the flawed policy of accepting a 15% permissible disturbance threshold for protected habitats in special areas of conservation and special protection areas, as referenced in multiple historical appropriate assessments; and if he will m…

461. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures being taken to address the encroachment of bracken on upland areas (details supplied) which is reducing biodiversity and farming viability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67706/25]

102. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 18 September 2025, where he specifically states that “There are no plans at this time to expand the number of such terrestrial sites," and by implication there are “no plans at this time to” consider Rathcoole Alluvial Woodland as a potential candidate site f…

1111. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 265, 266 and 267 of 18 September 2025, to confirm that there is in fact no list, public or otherwise, for new potential sites for consideration as candidate terrestrial SAC sites; the only list is the currently identified sites, candidate and designated on www.npw…

1112. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 18 September 2025, where the Minister specifically states in his reply: “There are no plans at this time to expand the number of such terrestrial sites", to confirm for the 22 sites of the 40 alluvial woodland sites monitored that are not in an SAC, that des…

1113. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 18 September 2025, where the Minister specifically states “There are no plans at this time to expand the number of such terrestrial sites," if he will confirm the implication in the reply is that Rathcoole alluvial Woodland is therefore not actually on a lis…

1114. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 18 September 2025, where the Minister specifically states in his reply “There are no plans at this time to expand the number of such terrestrial sites," to confirm for the 22 sites of the 40 alluvial woodland sites monitored that are not in an SAC, that they…

265. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to list all sites currently being assessed as sites of community importance under Article 4 of the Habitats Directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49318/25]