Mr. Morris Flynn:

This is my first time before the committee but I have been a member of the group for a long time. I could bore everybody and speak about the volume of paperwork I have collected on this issue down through the years but I do not propose to do so. I am a farmer, predominantly a dairy farmer. This issue has dragged on since the suspension of the hen harrier scheme in April 2010 and the suspension of the forestry scheme in early 2011. There is no other sector that would wait as patiently for their money. It is frustrating that we have to come here today and I hope that we do not have to come here again. I am calling on the powers that be to recognise the pressure that farmers are under and to put this issue to bed once and for all. I can see both sides of the argument. Last year, this designation cost me €150,000. To purchase good quality dairy land which came up for sale I wanted to sell land I had that was suitable for nothing other than forestry but I was not allowed to sell it. For me, that land is almost worthless. I had to finance the purchase of the land I wanted and I am now facing ten years of repayments, plus interest, on that land. Given the fluctuating prices in dairying I could face serious problems meeting those repayments into the future.

That this problem has reached this stage is scandalous. The designation of my land has cost me a huge amount of money. We are farmers of the most vulnerable land in the country and this designation has been placed on us. I accept that this land is important to the protection of the hen harrier. Much has been said about what should or should not be done in regard to the hen harrier but I do not condone that. The hen harrier has been around since my grandfather's time. Farmers and landowners have no problem with the bird. They are delighted to see the birds flying around at their ease and they enjoy seeing them but trust has broken down because of the manner in which the scheme is being rolled out. As I said, we are the owners of the worst land in the country. We are barely making a living from farming and we are being left to carry the burden in terms of any fine that would be imposed on the country. From year to year for the past eight years all we have had is empty promises. I welcome the new schemes, be that GLAS+ or the new hen harrier scheme, but all schemes have their pitfalls and they come nowhere near replacing what was provided for in the original agreement which I received in 2007.

I did not engage with the appeals process because I was happy to allow my land to be designated based on what was contained in the original agreement. Had I known what would happen within 24 months I would never have agreed to it. My land is now worthless. I am not the only one affected. In 2005, a woman in her 70s from the UK came to Ireland and purchased approximately 30 acres adjacent to my land, where she lived for a while before returning to the UK and renting out the property. In 2012, she returned to Ireland to sell her property because she has serious health issues. There are people in the Visitors Gallery today and others around the country who, on medical advice, should no longer be operating machinery and taking care of livestock on a daily basis but they have to carry on because they have no other way of making a living. The property owned by the woman from the UK has been on the market since 2012. When she returned to Ireland and learned that the land had been designated while she was away the bottom fell out of her world. She has received nothing for that land. She found out that I have been involved in the campaign on this issue for many years and she appeared at my door in tears because she needs money to meet her health care needs in the UK to the end of her days. It is soul destroying and unacceptable that anybody should have to do that. As I stated earlier, the carpet was pulled out from my under our feet. We were codded and the manner in which we have been treated is deplorable.

I was recently made aware that under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights a person's property cannot be interfered with without property dialogue and proper compensation being paid in time. I believe Ireland is the same, which might answer a question asked earlier by a number of members. As stated by Mr. Fitzgerald, up to now people have been afraid to take a case against the State but they now feel they will have no option but to do so if the Government, with the support of Fianna Fáil, does not sort out this problem once and for all. This cannot be allowed to continue any longer. We have discussed every aspect of the issue today. It is time now that it was put to bed once and for all.