Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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260. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the number of farmers in hen harrier special protection areas; and the number of these who have entered the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme plus. [42518/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There are 3,767 herd numbers with designated lands in the Hen Harrier Special Protection Areas across Ireland. Of these, 1,017 have already been approved for entry to GLAS under Tranche 1, while a further 300 or so applications have queries associated with them and will hopefully be approved into the scheme when these are resolved. I expect significant additional applications from hen harrier farmers under Tranche 2 of GLAS and these will of course receive priority access to the scheme as Tier One candidates.

The calculations determining access to GLAS Plus will only be completed at pre-payment validation stage but it is important to note that in every case where the cost for a farmer of meeting the hen harrier action exceeds €5,000 annually, he or she will automatically qualify for GLAS Plus. A separate application is not necessary.