Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the members from the Burren Farming for Conservation Programme for coming here today. I did not know anything about this scheme until today. It is unique. It is amazing what can be achieved with co-operation.

On a point made by Mr. Daveron that the environmentalists listen to the farmers, that is an illustration of what should have happened in this country in the way the hills were de-stocked and there is now the problem with fern. As he stated, the Burren has been farmed for 5,000 years and it will not destruct overnight because people have an interest in keeping it.

On the specifics of the scheme, Dr. Moran stated that it can be rolled out in other parts of Ireland. The Burren is unique, both to Ireland and to Europe. It is unique to the world. There is not a landscape like it anywhere in the world in the way it has developed and in the way people have made a living on it. Dr. Moran referred to areas such as Connemara and Wicklow. They would have to be specific schemes. It is encouraging if it can be so. I would welcome a response at some later stage from Dr. Moran to the committee on areas where it could be rolled out because it seems to be a low-cost scheme.

On winterage, as they stated, the Burren is an ideal area for winterage for cattle because it is so dry. To be in the scheme, one must leave cattle in it for the winter. If one has ten hectares in the Burren and ten hectares outside, can one winter one's cattle outside the Burren to avail of the scheme or must one have them on it for the winter? On the removal of silage feeding in the Burren and replacing it with concentrates, how much extra per hectare do they reckon it costs the farmers to feed their cattle in the Burren because silage is not allowed to be used under this scheme?