72.—The Forestry Act 1946, is hereby amended—

(a) by the insertion, in subsection (4) of section 37, of the following after paragraph (b):

“(bb) the tree is standing on land held or managed by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, or”,

and

(b) by the insertion, in section 62, of the following after subsection (1):

“(1A) Where either or both the wood and land to which subsection (1) of this section relates is or forms part of either or both wood and land to which Chapter III of Part II, or Regulation 17 or 18, of the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 94 of 1997), applies, then the Minister may only serve a notice under subsection (1) of this section—

(a) where all relevant provisions of the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1997, have been complied with, and

(b) where appropriate, the service of the notice under subsection (1) of this section is necessary for the imperative reasons of overriding public interest as provided for in those Regulations and Article 6 of Council Directive No. 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora⁽¹⁾.”.