Dr. Anita Donaghy:

If I may add to the discussion on reintroduction, one of the problems is that the landscape needs to be there to support a recovering population. Very often, that is a major challenge for us. When habitat loss has been severe enough to cause populations to become extinct in the first place, it would be madness to attempt reintroductions to those landscapes, which are very poor and which will not be able to support them. The landscape must be restored before we look at bringing the birds back.

The Chairman mentioned Bord na Móna. We have quite a close working relationship with the latter, particularly in the context of curlew populations. Its land holdings support just under a fifth of the national curlew population. It has been quite supportive. It has attempted to protect curlews wherever they are found on its holdings. Bord na Móna should be commended in that regard. It has definitely taken action in respect of curlew populations. We are working on several projects in the north west with regard to the restoration of peatlands. We are working with the National Parks and Wildlife Service on drain blocking projects on some big sites in the north west. There has been quite a lot of work done on raised bogs but we are now trying to look at restoration programmes for blanket bogs.

The Chairman also inquired about funding. He asked what is needed. We would all say that the proper resourcing of the National Parks and Wildlife Service is extremely important. The funding of education programmes is also massively important. It is one of the ways in which people learn to appreciate their environment more. More ecologists are needed within the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in order that our agriculture schemes can be made more friendly to wildlife. That is one of the most important things to deliver with regard to farmland birds.