Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise the designation of lands under the birds and various other EU directives and the consternation it is causing in the communities I represent.

There is a major issue with the designation of lands in western Duhallow, in particular, and in other counties such as Kerry, Limerick and those along the western seaboard. It has now transpired, despite all the advice that was given at the start when the directives were being implemented, that the land has been rendered worthless with one stroke of a pen, as was said by one of the farmers who is leading the campaign in this regard. Many of these farmers have been trying to develop their lands or even sell them so they can move on to different enterprises or get involved in more productive farming such as dairying and so forth.

The substance of the issue is that we must get representatives of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and particularly the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the farmers concerned into a room to hold factual discussions on this matter. It is time for representatives of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to meet these farmers in a meaningful way. Lands have been declared worthless. The hen harrier issue has been ongoing since 2004 or 2005. There were issues at the time relating to afforestation and the development of wind farms on the lands that were to be designated, and all of the evidence or issues brought forward at the time have turned out to be non-existent. Some of the farmers concerned make the point that the best lands for the breeding of the hen harrier are not designated at all.

The scientific basis for designating the lands in the first instance must be challenged.

The European Union and the State, through the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, have wiped out the value of this land whose owners must be compensated. The plans to be submitted to Brussels are being delayed. As many of the farmers in question told me, the next step must be to have a meeting with officials from the Departments of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Agriculture, Food and the Marine to try to resolve these issues, which have been ongoing for some time. I call on the Minister to convey to his two ministerial colleagues, the Ministers for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the need to hold a summit meeting with the farmers in question as that is the only way to make progress on the issue.

Last week, I and my colleagues, Deputies Niall Collins and Éamon Ó Cuív, met farmers in Adare, County Limerick, to discuss this issue. The livelihoods of many of the farmers in question have been affected in different ways. I ask the Minister to ensure his colleagues arrange a crisis meeting or summit in the next week or two to allow the farmers in question, in the first instance, to air their serious grievances and, second, to try to find a resolution and make progress.

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