§ Ms MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list(a) the areas in Northern Ireland that have been designated as environmentally sensitive, (b) the amount of money spent on each of these areas since 1989, (c) the expenditure for each of these areas in 1994–95 and (d) the projected expenditure for each of these areas for 1996–97. [15424]
§ Mr. AncramThe information requested is as follows.
375WThere are five environmentally sensitive areas in Northern Ireland:
Area Mourne mountains and Slieve Croob Designated as pilot ESA in 1988 Redesignated May 1993 Antrim coast, Glens and Rathlin Designated as pilot ESA in 1989 Redesignated and extended May 1993 West Fermanagh and Erne Lakeland Designated in May 1993 Sperrins Designated in June 1994 Slieve Gullion Designated in June 1994 As ESA payments are not due until 12 months from the date on which a farmer enters into an ESA agreement, the only payments to date have been the original pilot ESAs as follows:
To date 1994–95 £ Million £ Million Mourne mountains and Slieve Croob 1.6 0.350 Glens of Antrim 0.652 0.215 Projected expenditure for all five ESAs in 1996–97 is £5.104 million.
§ Ms MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the criteria for an area of land to be designated as environmentally sensitive. [15423]
§ Mr. AncramThe following criteria were applied to the selection of the existing five environmentally sensitive areas in Northern Ireland
Each area must be of national environmental significance; must represent a discrete and coherent unit of environmental interest; its conservation must depend on adopting, maintaining or extending particular farming practices; farming practices in the area must have changed, or must be likely to do so, in ways that pose a threat to the environment.