Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will deal with this matter on behalf of the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

As the Deputy is aware, the hen harrier is a protected but endangered bird of prey, listed in Annex 1 of the EU birds directive. Ireland is, therefore, obliged under European law to protect and conserve this species.

The position of the hen harrier was a major factor in a judgment of the European Court of Justice of the EU in 2007 against Ireland - it was known as "the birds case" - for failure to provide adequate protection for wild birds. This case remains open, with the continuing possibility of major fines being imposed on Ireland. As a result of the judgment, Ireland designated six special protection areas or SPAs for the conservation of this species. These SPAs are at risk due to a number of factors, such as the reclamation of upland open habitats for agriculture, development of wind farms and maturing of large-scale forests planted in upland areas. These activities have a significant negative impact on the birds' breeding and feeding habitats.

In 2012, following discussions with the European Commission it was agreed that Ireland would pursue a threat response plan for the protection of the hen harrier which would assist in meeting Ireland's requirements following the 2007 European Court of Justice judgment. It is acknowledged that there have been difficulties in granting consents for certain activities within these sites under EU law. However, the threat response plan aims to bring certainty to consent authorities and landowners and to develop a framework for consents that can operate in compliance with EU legal requirements.

In the early summer, an interdepartmental steering group was convened to assist in the development of the plan. The group comprises representatives from the Departments of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Environment, Community and Local Government and Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The group is examining all of the issues at hand, including forestry consents, planning permissions for wind farms and financial supports for farmers, with a view to determining the appropriate course of further action. Its first meeting took place in late July and it will continue its important work over the coming months.

A consultative committee of stakeholders, which will include farming representatives, is also being established. Through the consultative committee, the views of those affected will be incorporated into the work of the steering group. It should be noted, however, that officials from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht have already had significant engagement with farming organisations in regard to this issue. While the Department has a lead role in the implementation of the habitats directive and birds directive, the bulk of available EU and national funding to assist farmers in meeting the requirements of these directives is provided through the rural development programme operated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Agri-environmental schemes such as the rural environment protection scheme, REPS, and agri-environment options scheme have provided a range of supports for farmers, including payments in respect of designated sites to tens of thousands of farmers. In future, the provision of financial supports for agri-environmental actions by farmers in special areas of conservation and special protection areas will be made predominantly through the green, low carbon, agri-environment scheme, GLAS, which is operated under the rural development programme.

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