Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his presence. The farming community in the Shannon callows area, in the general Clonfert, Esker and Eyrecourt areas of County Galway and in areas of Roscommon, Westmeath and Offaly which are in the Shannon callows area, is extremely annoyed about the lack of action on what it sees as rightful compensation. This low-lying area was very badly flooded during the downpours last month and many farmers have seen their silage and hay crops ruined this year. The farmers are up in arms because of the protracted nature of the deal being negotiated with Dúchas. Representatives of the farming organisation and of Dúchas have been meeting for a long time to try to settle this long saga. My understanding is that compensation rates have already been agreed for the corncrake land to secure its preservation.

The Shannon callows is a unique area with environmental features not seen elsewhere in Europe. Everybody wants to see the corncrakes propagate and survive for the enjoyment of generations to come. The farmers in the area take their responsibilities very seriously in that regard. Some of the stipulations surrounding the compensation are reasonable from the point of view of the plight of the corncrake but others will not allow farmers to cut a hay crop on the Shannon callows after 15 September each year for many years. I am sure the Minister is fully aware that, given the weather patterns in Ireland, particularly in the west, a farmer could hardly be expected to cut silage after 15 September, never mind hay. It is out of season and the land seems to have been handed over to the environment.

The Department of Agriculture and Food also had a say but not in this specific scheme, which is why I am delighted the Minister is present. It will be interesting to see how soon he expects the deal to be finalised, and in what circumstances. We are talking about the land owned by the farmers not designated for the corncrake. At recent meetings officials from Dúchas, under the direction of the Minister's Department, seem to have suggested that the payment per hectare will be subject to a ten hectare limit, meaning that more than ten hectares will not qualify for payment. I know what I am talking about and know the area extremely well.

I do not want to fudge the specific issue by raising many other issues in the area which are not specifically within the Minister's remit, such as the age-old question of flooding and the draining of the Shannon. There is, however, a huge case to be made for a maintenance programme on the Shannon. There have been several pilot projects and plans over the years but one or two recent reports suggested a pilot project to take the silt out of the Shannon river over a two or three mile stretch on the Clonfert side, to see if it would create more room for the water.

I await the Minister's response with open ears.

See this speech in context