European Communities (Conservation of Wild Birds (Lough Oughter Complex Special Protection Area 004049)) Regulations 2012 (S.I. No. 585 of 2012).

These Regulations designate a lake area as a Special Protection Area in accordance with Article 4 of Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The purpose is to ensure protection from disturbance, capture and damage to nests and eggs under Article 5 of the Directive for all species of birds, not just the birds listed on Schedule 3 (with the exception of those birds covered under Articles 7 for hunting and 9, where derogations are listed). Schedule 4 lists activities that require the consent of the Minister and may cause disturbance or damage to birds protected under Schedule 3. They include: reclamation, cutting, uprooting or otherwise removing plants, introduction, or re-introduction, of plants or animals not found in the area, burning, topping, clearing scrub or rough vegetation or reseeding, drainage works including digging, deepening, widening or blocking a drain, watercourse or waterbody, water abstraction, sinking of boreholes and wells or planting of trees or multi-annual bioenergy crops. (Consent is not required for harvesting of cultivated crops, or for grazing or mowing, or for (activities related to) the planting of crops on established reseeded grassland or cultivated land). Operations or activities other than those listed at Schedule 4 to these Regulations, such as effluent discharge, construction work, aquaculture, fishing or forestry, require a licence or permission from the appropriate consent authority.