This article is from page 13 of the 2008-01-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
ese terday, a spokesman from the De- partment of the Environment said that applications for one-off houses would not be affected.
‘The situation will be the same in Clare as it is in south Galway; the presence of Hen Harriers and the position of a site in the Special Area of Conservation will not be a factor
in the granting of planning permis- sion for one-off housing,” said the spokesman.
These commitments leaves too much ‘wiggle room’ for planners, ac- cording to Clare IFA president Sea-
mus Murphy. “There are real fears in the area. Farmers need to be able to build in their own areas. It’s the Irish way of life. Why should we put the welfare of Hen Harriers ahead of the welfare of farm- ers,’ he said. “We would like to remind all farmers that they can still object to this classification until February 8.”
As much as 35 per cent of Ireland’s Hen Harrier population – some 40 pairs of birds – is believed to live in the area between Clare and Galway.
Last year, Minister Gormley des- ignated some 61,000 hectares in the Slieve Aughty Mountains in south Galway and north Clare as a Special Protection Area for the preservation of the rare bird.
The Hen Harrier is facing extinc- tion in Ireland and the UK with only 20 currently in existence in England.