Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday I attended a briefing in the AV Room by a group of farmers from north west Cork, east Kerry, west Limerick and County Tipperary on the designation of their lands under the hen harrier programme, the lack of compensation for years and the scheme being put in place which they said did not adequately compensate them, following which the issue was discussed with them at a meeting last night of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. In 2007 the National Parks and Wildlife Service gave a commitment that any farmer whose lands were designated under the hen harrier programme would receive a payment of €350 per hectare, but this agreement was later broken by the service and the then Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. In 2015 the then Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, committed to paying €350 per hectare up to 40 hectares which was equivalent to 100 acres. However, nothing has happened in the intervening years.

Prior to last Christmas, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Michael Creed, announced the compensation scheme currently in place. For example, for the first 25 acres, or 10 hectares, if awarded the maximum 1,000 points, a farmer is paid €2,000. However, as the average number of points for this category is 600, the payment is €1,200. For the second 25 acres, if awarded the maximum 1,000 points, the payment is €1,500. However, as the average number of points in this category is also 600, the payment is only €900. For the third 25 acres, if awarded the full 1,000 points, a sum of €1 per hectare is payable, which equates to a figure of €1,000. However, one is more likely to receive €600. For the final 25 acres, the payment is supposed to be €750, but the likelihood is that it will be €450. The maximum payment possible is €5,250, but the likelihood is that it will be €3,150 against the promised €14,000 per 100 hectares in 2007 and 2015.

At the meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said that as the agreement had been broken by the then Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, not the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, it was not a matter for them. A gangster in the Windy City of Chicago would not attempt to do what is being done to honest farmers. What does the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine propose to do about it? Does he propose to continue this blatant robbery of their assets?

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