Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 January 2023
1768. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason that the areas of the Ballyboy, Cregaclare Turlough, Ballyboy, Ardrahan, County Galway, are excluded from the ACRES scheme given that they are areas of important ecological value; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63472/22]
View answerThe map of the eight Co-operation Project (CP) zones was developed to facilitate the implementation of locally targeted and adapted agri-environment measures under the Co-Operation stream of the Agri-climate, Rural, Environment Scheme (ACRES).
An interdepartmental working group with representatives from my Department, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, EPA and LAWPRO, was established to identify the relevant areas for the zones.
Development of the map and selection of the areas for the Co-operation stream involved identifying lands throughout the country based on the criteria set out below.
- SACs
- SPAs
- NHAs
- All offshore islands
- Burren region (RDP map)
- Corncrake LIFE areas
- Breeding Hen Harrier Regions
- Curlew breeding areas
- Wild Atlantic Nature areas
- River sub-basins known to have large areas of Annex I grasslands
- Blue Dot Catchments
From lands that met the criteria above, the interdepartmental group selected the eight co-operation zones based on maximum environmental priority.
However, it is important to note that farmers with lands outside of these Co-operation zones, like those in the areas of Galway mentioned, were eligible to apply for the general stream of ACRES.
I am pleased that over 46,000 applications were received for the Scheme. This is a very strong response from the farming community and shows a commitment to working to protect the environment and habitats.
