Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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66. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will introduce urgent measures to conserve the Golden Eagle population which has fallen to a critically low level; if she has discussed eliminating the threats to the Golden Eagle population in and around the Glenveagh National Park in County Donegal with the management of the National Parks and Wildlife Service or with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43490/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Golden Eagle Reintroduction Project is managed by the Golden Eagle Trust in partnership with, and with funding from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which, as the Deputy will be aware, is a section within my Department. The purpose of the reintroduction project was to bring back eagles to Ireland, restoring a species that had been persecuted in the late 19th Century. The golden eagle was present in Glenveagh until 1910.

Experts on eagles in Scotland visited Glenveagh, by then a National Park, in the 1990s, and considered that the habitats in north Donegal were suitable for a reintroduction programme. 61 birds, sourced as chicks in Scotland, were released in Glenveagh between 2001 and 2012. The original plan was to release 75 birds over five years but it became increasingly difficult to find suitable donor stock in Scotland, resulting in fewer releases over a longer time span than originally planned.

Using data from radio and satellite tags and wing tags fitted to the released birds, it was established that some birds moved around Ireland and some even returned to Scotland. Some birds are known to have died of natural causes but 3 of the 10 satellite-tagged birds were poisoned, two in Donegal and one in Northern Ireland. My Department produces annual reports on all known cases of mortality and persecution of birds of prey.

The re-introduced eagles have nested over a number of years, and in 2014 and 2015 there were 3 known nests. However, breeding success has not been as good as anticipated. Sometimes, as is the case in 2015, this may be due to adverse weather at critical stages during nesting. However, as has been pointed out by the Golden Eagle Trust in recent weeks, there may also be issues to do with habitat quality and the amount of food prey available in the landscape.

There are many factors at play in matters concerning the ecology and behaviour of the golden eagle. Certainly, large-scale burning, as has occurred in recent years, is a factor in reducing habitat quality. Such burning poses a threat to property and forestry as well as to wildlife, and my Department is working with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to try to reduce this problem.

My Department and the Golden Eagle Trust will meet in the coming weeks to review the performance of the project to date and will examine what genuinely effective options are available in the short and medium term. My Department will then be in a position to decide if further discussions with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in regard to agri-environment measures would be useful.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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67. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her response to issues associated with hen harrier conservation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43486/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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An Inter-Departmental Steering Group was convened in July 2014 to assist in the development of a Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan. The Group is examining all of the issues at hand, including forestry and financial supports for farmers, with a view to determining the appropriate course of further action. A Consultative Committee with representatives from all the relevant sectors was also set up, including representatives of agriculture and forestry. This year my Department undertook a survey of Hen Harriers in Ireland. Such surveys are carried out every 5 years. It was agreed by all parties on the Consultative Committee that the results of the 2015 Hen Harrier survey should be incorporated into the Plan. The Steering Group and Consultative Committee met in the past month to consider the results of the 2015 Hen Harrier Survey and will meet again shortly to continue work towards the first draft of the Plan.