Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-02-15-Speech-2-221"
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"en.20000215.10.2-221"2
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".
The Commission is aware of the construction of the harbour, but we know nothing about the warehouse or the rest of the infrastructure mentioned by the honourable Member. The harbour construction project is receiving support from the Structural Funds and chiefly involves dredging the river Boyne Estuary and depositing the mud on the mudflats at Stegrennan.
The Boyne Estuary is designated a special protection area under the Wild Birds Directive. That means that any development that takes place in or near the Boyne Estuary and that is likely to affect the special protection area must take account of the protection criteria for the area laid down in the Community’s Habitats Directive.
Since 1998, the Commission has received a number of complaints alleging that the harbour will damage the mudflats at Stegrennan, which are now designated a part of the special protection area, and that the relevant protection criteria have not been observed.
After investigating these complaints between 1998 and the beginning of 1999 – during which time the project did not receive support from the Structural Funds – the Commission became convinced, in the summer of 1999, that the relevant protection criteria had been observed during the building of the harbour. An in-depth environmental impact assessment had been carried out. The most serious harm caused by the project, the damage to the Stegrennan mudflats, was only to be temporary, and the developers were liable for completely restoring the mudflats.
At the Commission's suggestion, the mudflats at Stegrennan were formally included in the Boyne Estuary special protection area, from which they had previously been excluded. Furthermore, to compensate for the negative effects on the bird populations caused by the temporary disappearance of the mudflats, the intention was that other habitats in the estuary should be improved.
However, since last summer the measure just mentioned has been in dispute. Firstly, the Irish authorities withdrew their earlier commitment to carry out improvements. They then renewed their commitment after an Irish non-governmental organisation began a legal challenge in the Irish courts. However, the new commitment included some minor changes which, in turn, led to a further complaint. In view of the fact that the Irish authorities have undertaken to make compensatory improvements and that other issues have already been resolved, the Commission will not, for the present, propose that financial support from the Structural Funds should be suspended. However, it wishes to discuss the question of compensatory measures with respect to improved habitats with the Irish authorities, particularly in the light of the continuing legal challenge in the Irish courts."@en1
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