New designation will affect lakeside dwellers

Too often we allow major decisions which impact on our lives to occur without question. In the coming weeks, new rules which prohibit simple activities such as planting trees and moving rocks without prior approval will come into effect in vast areas surrounding Lough Ree. The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht confirmed on Monday that Lough Ree, in counties Westmeath, Roscommon and Longford, will soon become a Special Protection Area (SPA) for wild birds. Only three submissions were lodged with the relevant Department when this new designation was first proposed. And only one person brought an appeal against the Department's decision to push on with the proposal. Of course, hundreds, if not thousands, of potentially affected people were probably not even aware of the move. But it could lead to people innocently breaching the SPA by carrying on standard home clearance and improvement work.