The EU Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) requires designation of SPAs for:

Listed rare and vulnerable species;

Regularly occurring migratory species, such as ducks, geese and waders;

Wetlands, especially those of international importance, which attract large numbers of migratory birds each year. (Internationally important means that 1% of the population of a species uses the site, or more than 20,000 birds regularly use the site.)

121 SPAs have been designated since 1985. 25 other sites enjoy legal protection and will shortly by designated as SPAs. However, further designations are required pursuant to the Birds Directive. The Minister will be publishing his proposals for the designation of additional sites on an on-going basis in Autumn 2007 and Spring 2008. It should be noted that many existing and future SPAs overlap with SACs. The Irish SPAs join a total of around 3,000 sites across the European Union.