Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very aware of the situation because among the areas designated for the hen harrier across the country there is one in my county. The role of farmers in effectively managing important conservation sites has always been recognised and this is evident through the frequent contact between my officials and farmers and their representative groups. Unfortunately, under the last RDP it was too late to include specific measures for the hen harrier, however my Department included a small-scale farm plan to support farmers in adopting appropriate management practices in the hen harrier SPAs and the Department has paid out some €14 million for the scheme to date. Due to budgetary constraints, the scheme was closed to new applicants in 2010 and not all the farmers were able to avail of the scheme at the time.

It was always envisaged that the support would ultimately fall under the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's remit as part of its future agri-environment schemes. Future payment schemes, including that for the hen harrier, will be implemented by that Department, primarily through the GLAS scheme. The Department is still in the process of finalising the details of GLAS. The consultative committee will be only one conduit for input into the development of the threat response plan and it is expected that a broader public and stakeholder consultation process will be undertaken with input being sought from all interested parties. Submissions from the public will also be sought at the time of publication of the first draft of the threat response plan and all these actions combined will help bring the necessary clarity and appropriate supports to farmers operating in these unique landscapes.

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