Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Co-operation and collaboration between farmers is needed to deliver the results we want and we now have a mechanism to enable that to happen. Over the last two or three decades, there has been a decline in biodiversity, not just in Ireland but across the world, and a biodiversity crisis has emerged. This is something we have to take really seriously and to reverse and this scheme is crucial to that. There are measures that can be taken, with farmers working together to support different bird species and habitats and it is crucial that we use this scheme to deliver on that. That is why we have increased the funding for this scheme by 50% relative to the previous one. We are now able to pay up to €10,000 for co-operative measures and up to €7,000 for the individual measures.

Again, I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this matter. It is important that we all work to get this right because it can deliver a really positive outcome.

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