Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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469. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of the locally led scheme and its operation; his plans for the future expansion of the scheme; the reason a species (details supplied) was excluded from the scheme; if he will engage with local stakeholders to formulate a scheme for the management and protection of the species in the district; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52735/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The Pearl Mussel Project is a locally led innovative results-based scheme funded under the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) measure which forms part of the current Irish Rural Development Programme (RDP). The design and management of the project are the responsibility of the project team, who will work closely with my Department, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and local farming communities as the new programme is rolled-out.

NPWS advised my Department on the catchments to be included in the programme, and the project will be rolled out in eight catchments to conserve freshwater pearl mussel and support overall environmental health. These eight catchments were chosen on the basis that they contain the top eight Margaritifera populations in the country. This is based on a prioritisation process that identified those populations that are closest to favourable conservation status. These eight populations contain approximately 9.58 million mussels, which is 80% of the total national population.

This is a pilot EIP under the present RDP and no decision on any future expansion will be made until the results of the current scheme are evaluated at the end of the project period.