Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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1164. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of money to be allocated to the hen harrier scheme; the scoring criteria to be used to define a person's qualification for the scheme; the maximum amount that a person can qualify for in one application; when it is planned to open applications; when the process will reach the payment stage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55131/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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At the outset, I should stress that this is a locally-led pilot project under the European Innovation Partnerships measure, and is not directly administered by my Department.  The design and management of the programme are primarily matters for the local project team, who have consulted widely with farmers in designated areas in the development of the measures to be undertaken on the ground and associated payments.

Funding for the Programme is provided through Ireland's Rural Development Plan and I have allocated a budget of €25 million for the Hen Harrier Programme.

The Programme has been open for applications since the 8th December 2017 and all information regarding the selection criteria and payments available to farmers can be found in the Terms and Conditions for the Programme. The Terms & Conditions and all other information can be obtained from the Hen Harrier project team and are also available on their website .

As stated above, the management of the programme is undertaken by the locally-led Hen Harrier project team and all decisions on issues with regard to payment dates and payable amounts are matters for them. I understand, however, that first payments to participating farmers will issue in 2018.