Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his presence. The farming community in the Shannon callows area, in the general Clonfert, Esker and Eyrecourt areas of County Galway and in areas of Roscommon, Westmeath and Offaly which are in the Shannon callows area, is extremely annoyed about the lack of action on what it sees as rightful compensation. This low-lying area was very badly flooded during the downpours last month and many farmers have seen their silage and hay crops ruined this year. The farmers are up in arms because of the protracted nature of the deal being negotiated with Dúchas. Representatives of the farming organisation and of Dúchas have been meeting for a long time to try to settle this long saga. My understanding is that compensation rates have already been agreed for the corncrake land to secure its preservation.

The Shannon callows is a unique area with environmental features not seen elsewhere in Europe. Everybody wants to see the corncrakes propagate and survive for the enjoyment of generations to come. The farmers in the area take their responsibilities very seriously in that regard. Some of the stipulations surrounding the compensation are reasonable from the point of view of the plight of the corncrake but others will not allow farmers to cut a hay crop on the Shannon callows after 15 September each year for many years. I am sure the Minister is fully aware that, given the weather patterns in Ireland, particularly in the west, a farmer could hardly be expected to cut silage after 15 September, never mind hay. It is out of season and the land seems to have been handed over to the environment.

The Department of Agriculture and Food also had a say but not in this specific scheme, which is why I am delighted the Minister is present. It will be interesting to see how soon he expects the deal to be finalised, and in what circumstances. We are talking about the land owned by the farmers not designated for the corncrake. At recent meetings officials from Dúchas, under the direction of the Minister's Department, seem to have suggested that the payment per hectare will be subject to a ten hectare limit, meaning that more than ten hectares will not qualify for payment. I know what I am talking about and know the area extremely well.

I do not want to fudge the specific issue by raising many other issues in the area which are not specifically within the Minister's remit, such as the age-old question of flooding and the draining of the Shannon. There is, however, a huge case to be made for a maintenance programme on the Shannon. There have been several pilot projects and plans over the years but one or two recent reports suggested a pilot project to take the silt out of the Shannon river over a two or three mile stretch on the Clonfert side, to see if it would create more room for the water.

I await the Minister's response with open ears.

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Whatever about the corncrakes I will not talk about the drainage of the Shannon.

Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I know that.

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Shannon callows is designated as a special protection area, SPA, for birds under the EU birds directive. The SPA has an area of some 6,000 hectares running through five counties. In former times the corncrake was widespread in Ireland. However, over several decades, a combination of the intensification of farming practices and, in particular, the change from hay-making to silage-cutting, have resulted in the species being left only in the coastal areas of the north and west, and in the more extensively farmed floodplain, or callows, area along the Shannon.

However, in the callows, the number of corncrakes has declined greatly over the past 20 years. A prescription for corncrake-friendly farming was drafted using best current practice. This involves late cutting of the meadow and cutting from the inside of the field outward to allow the young to escape.

Up to and including 2006, payments to farmers for corncrake-friendly farming in the callows and other areas have mainly been made under a voluntary scheme referred to as the corncrake grant scheme, operated by BirdWatch Ireland with funding from my Department. Last year, landowners in the callows received €102,000 for some 20 pairs of nesting corncrakes, which is expensive nesting. Farmers have also been paid under REPS.

In May of this year, the callows flooded and many of the remaining corncrakes were driven off their nests. Because this threatens the total loss of the Shannon callows corncrakes, my Department is funding BirdWatch Ireland to offer payments at especially high levels to farmers who voluntarily undertake late cutting in September. The money offered under the corncrake grant scheme is the highest ever. I hope this will encourage farmers to provide the necessary habitat for the corncrakes to successfully raise this year's young.

In the future, compensation will be paid to an individual land owner for actual costs or farming losses incurred, either through the rural environment protection scheme, REPS, as administered by the Department of Agriculture and Food or via the farm plan scheme of my Department. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government's farm plan scheme was launched in February last following agreement with the farming organisations. However, it has not been possible to agree terms for the corncrake prescriptions for the Shannon callows, despite numerous meetings that have taken place between officials from my Department, officials from the Department of Agriculture and Food and farming representatives over recent years.

I regret that it has not yet proved possible to resolve this matter. My Department is maintaining contact with the farming representatives to see how agreement might be reached in the context of the new farm plan scheme.