Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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603. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of times, including dates, that the threat response plan team for the hen harrier habitat has met in each of the years 2011 to 2014 and in 2015 to date; if she will provide details of the membership of the team, including the agency or body the member in question represents; the attendance record of each member for each of the meetings concerned; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27080/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Inter-Departmental Steering Group working on the development of the Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan was established in July 2014 and has now met on five occasions: 24th July and 17th December 2014, and 31st March, 20th May and 17th June 2015.

The membership of the Steering Group is made up of representatives of my Department, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, and the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government.

Meetings were attended by representatives from all Departments with the following exceptions:

- the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resource was unable to send a representative to the first meeting in July 2014;

- the Departments of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and Environment, Community and Local Government were unable to attend the meeting of 31^stMarch 2015; and

- the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government was unable to send a representative on 20^thMay 2015.