Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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371. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the farm plan for designated areas will be available to all farmers in the 2021 Shannon Callows season; the amount available for this plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12592/21]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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My Department recognises the positive role that farming can play in addressing biodiversity loss. The NPWS Farm Plan Scheme operates nationally, targeting various habitats and species by working proactively with farmers to go above and beyond their statutory requirements.

While there is no specific ‘Shannon Callows Farm Plan Scheme’, a number of farmers in the Shannon Callows have participated in the Scheme, with the objective of managing proactively for meadows and grasslands, Corncrake and breeding waders.

Since 2007, the National Parks & Wildlife has invested over €2.5 million by way of payments to farmers in the Shannon Callows. When the budget for the NPWS Farm Plan Scheme was curtailed in 2010, all existing farm plan contracts were honoured by my Department and, in advance of GLAS opening in 2015, my Department worked closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine to prioritise entry to that Scheme for farmers in the Shannon Callows.

There are currently 14 NPWS Farm Plans for the Shannon Callows, which is the largest number of NPWS Farm Plans active in any one designated area. An open call will be announced shortly for farmers to apply for the NPWS Farm Plan Scheme and farmers in the Shannon Callows are eligible to apply. Applications are made as part of a competitive process and there can be no guarantee of entry in 2021 as the scheme is subject to an overall limited budget.

I have secured additional funding for the Scheme in 2021.