Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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252. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 685 and 686 of 8 March 2018, if all the data requested has been compiled. [18446/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I would like to advise you that my Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has operated a farm plan scheme since 2006. Over 650 farm plans were approved under this voluntary scheme. Farmers have been incentivised to go above and beyond their statutory requirements in designated lands for particular habitats or species. One of the primary aims of the scheme is to trial bespoke measures for enhanced management of biodiversity at farm level, with a view to informing current and future measures under the Rural Development Programme.

The NPWS Farm Plan Scheme is entirely exchequer-funded. At its peak, the costs of the scheme were circa €5 million per annum. The scheme was greatly scaled back in 2010 due to severe budgetary constraints arising from the financial crisis. Some of the measures previously supported in the NPWS farm plan scheme are now provided for under GLAS.

In delivering schemes, Member States are obliged by regulation to protect against double funding for delivery of the same objective. Farmers in agri-environment schemes administered by Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) are required to include all their lands designated under the Birds or Habitats Directives and farm it in a manner that respects the site requirements.

The objective of a GLAS farm plan is determined by site requirements and the current policy is that participation in both GLAS and the NPWS farm plan scheme simultaneously is not allowed. Where on occasion specific additional requirements are necessary, provision can be made for an additional payment in respect of the additional requirement, on that proviso that double funding does not arise.