An Irish government minister has defended a decision to allow the makers of the new Star Wars movie to return to a world heritage site off the Kerry coast.
Arts and heritage minister Heather Humphreys insisted that wildlife on the island Skellig Michael would not be affected when filming resumes this month.
Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson stars alongside Star Wars veterans Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher in the hotly-anticipated seventh film of the series, which hits cinemas in December.
Lucasfilm last year filmed scenes for ‘The Force Awakens’ on the island, which is home to a 6th century monastic settlement, but the makers of the multi-billion dollar franchise now want to return for up to four more days.
Ms Humphreys described the move as a “significant boost” for Ireland as an international film location and said strict environmental and ecological conditions were being put in place to ensure there is no negative impact.
She said an ecologist and specialist staff from her department’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the National Monuments Service would be present, with the power to stop or modify filming at any point.
The minister accused those “attempting to turn this into a negative story” of “completely overlooking the fact that up to 180 people visit the island on any given day”.
However, the Republic’s environmental trust An Taisce is opposed to the plans and Birdwatch Ireland said it had “major concerns”.
Skellig Michael is home to one of the most important breeding colonies of two vulnerable seabird species, the Manx Shearwater and the European Storm Petrel. both of which are nocturnal.
The body said it was particularly concerned about plans to conduct filming after dark by helicopter.
