Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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10. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the agri-environment scheme for those farmers whose lands are designated for the protection of the habitat of the hen harrier; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41235/15]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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This question relates to a scheme the Minister announced recently on lands protected for the conservation of the habitat of the hen harrier. I ask the Minister to give an update on the progress made regarding the scheme.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In the first instance, farmers with hen harrier land already have priority access to the green low carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS. I also provided that such farmers would be automatically approved for GLAS plus should they be farming a sufficient area of habitat. I strongly encourage all farmers with hen harrier land to take up this measure under GLAS, which offers a payment rate of €370 per hectare. Farmers can earn up to €7,000 per annum through a combination of GLAS and GLAS plus payments and approximately 1,400 hen harrier farmers have already been approved for the new scheme.

In addition, I have recently announced that I intend to introduce a further scheme of assistance under the locally led agri-environment measure to cater for farmers who are farming large tracts of hen harrier land. One of the principles of the planned locally led measure is to explore new ways of managing farming effort for the benefit of the environment, in this case, the hen harrier. Once the new scheme has been designed, it must be negotiated with the European Commission and formally introduced by amendment to the rural development programme next year. I expect this process will be concluded early next year. Only one amendment of the rural development programme is allowed annually, which means a number of items will be bundled together and presented for approval at the same time. The proposed amendment is necessary to secure EU approval not alone for the new hen harrier scheme, but also for the various other locally led schemes I intend to introduce.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for showing an interest in this matter. It is unfortunate that Deputy Ó Cuív, having noted my presence in the Chamber, chose not to stay around for this question as it relates to a legacy of the previous Government when it abandoned farmers in hen harrier designated lands. I come from west County Limerick where practically all land, from Newcastle West to Abbeyfeale, has been designated hen harrier land. This a major issue in designated areas which include parts of north County Cork, north County Galway, east County Clare, east County Galway and counties Tipperary and Monaghan.

I thank the Minister for the efforts he has made in trying to resolve this issue, which has arisen because farmers in hen harrier designated areas were essentially abandoned by the previous Government when it announced a scheme only to pull the plug on it and walk away. In doing so, it left the designation in place without providing for compensation or even recognition, which is what many of the affected farmers were seeking.

I thank the Minister sincerely for the level of engagement he has had with the farming organisations on this issue. While only a small number of people are affected, a terrible wrong was committed against them. At least the Department, through the Minister, has now acknowledged this wrong and is trying to do something about it. What is the timeframe for rolling out the scheme?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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A wrong was committed against the farmers concerned who were promised something which was not delivered. The previous Government had form in that regard in that it promised the sun, moon and stars in its efforts to achieve agreements but failed to deliver because it did not have the money to do so. One of the reasons it has taken some time to provide a response to help farmers who have hen harrier designation was that the decision on designation is made by a different Department. My Department is now trying to deal with the issue because we have the finance to do so. The guts of €23 million will be spent on farmers affected by hen harrier designation. This is a significant sum for the protection of one species of bird, including its habitat, nesting conditions for breeding birds and so forth.

We expect it will take until February or thereabouts to design the amendment to the rural development programme. If we can secure EU agreement to the amendment, we will have to draw up a scheme, which will take another couple of months. I was up front with farmers on this issue. We hope applicants will be accepted into the scheme by the final quarter of next year. That is the most realistic timeframe for the locally led scheme. In the meantime, however, farmers should apply to GLAS for payments under that scheme.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the timeframe provided by the Minister. I note the presence of the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, who played a pivotal role in the scheme from a forestry point of view. Much of the land in question, particularly in my local area, is suitable for forestry. I am aware of a degree of anxiety in the Department to address the forestry element as well.

As representatives of the affected areas, we are anxious to see the problem in relation to the designation looked at. While it is not responsible for the designation, the Department has stepped into the breech to provide leadership in resolving the problem. Can the designation problem be looked at with the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, from a forestry point of view? The Minister knows the quality of the land I am talking about. In a lot of cases, it is only suitable for forestry. While the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, is trying to deal with it, if we could get the forestry issue on the table as well, it would make a major difference to farmers.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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That is actively happening. As part of the threat response plan being led and managed by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht through the National Parks and Wildlife Service, there is an assessment of whether the measures that have been put in place to protect the hen harrier have worked to date and to determine what lessons can be learned in terms of future protections. We are making the case strongly that we need to show more flexibility in relation to forestry and afforestation. There are ways to facilitate limited forestry in certain parts of those designated lands within reason if we can show that it will not interfere with or upset the habitat of the bird. That is what we are attempting to do. The threat response plan is taking some time and some people have grown frustrated with the process. As such, we have asked if we can look at the forestry elements of it as a priority, separate to the overall threat response plan, to fast-track decisions on afforestation. We are trying to have as complete a response as possible here. First, we want very strong financial supports in terms of the designation and the conditions around them. Second, we want farmers to get a commercial income where reasonable from their lands, whether through farming or afforestation. We will come back to the Deputy when we have a conclusion on that.