Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2024
367. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the sources of information, and if the information was peer reviewed, that led to the development of the new bird and bird foraging layers on IForIS, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8693/24]
View answerMy Department use several sources of data to safeguard protected bird species, in carrying out its functions in deciding on afforestation licence applications.
The following table details the sources used to generate the new bird related layers on iFORIS.
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Layer |
Source |
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1 |
Hen Harrier Red Areas (HLNAs) layer (Layer not available on iNET, due to its confidential nature) |
High Likelihood of Nesting Area (HLNA) dataset supplied by NPWS to DAFM for use under its Forestry & Hen Harrier Potential Disturbance Protocol for SPAs. Dataset includes records held by NPWS (including national survey results) and year-on-year data collected under the Hen Harrier EIP Project (now closed).A buffer is added to this data by my Department. |
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2 |
Hen Harrier Current Breeding Distributions and Ranges (Article 12) layer |
This information is compiled by NPWS published and submitted to the European Commission, as required under Article 12 of the Birds Directive. |
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3 |
Breeding Curlew (Layer not available on iNET, due to its confidential nature) |
Datasets of nest sites forwarded by NPWS to DAFM, including, records from the 2021 National Survey, records from 2022 and 2023 from the NPWS-DAFM co-funded Curlew Conservation Programme; and data previously provided by NPWS, containing records from 2015 to 2020.A buffer is added by my Department |
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4 |
Breeding Farmland Waders Hotspots Layer plus underlining species-specific layers |
Based on Breeding Farmland Wader Hotspots (85th percentile) map (Figure 9) and associated single-species maps, from BirdWatch Ireland’s Farmland Bird Hotspot Mapping (Phase 2) Project Report (29 August 2022). Published by BirdWatch Ireland under a project part funded by my Department. |
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5 |
Farmland Birds Hotspot layer |
Based on the Farmland Bird Hotspots (85th percentile) map (Figure 7) from BirdWatch Ireland’s Farmland Bird Hotspot Mapping (Phase 2) Project Report (29 August 2022). Published by BirdWatch Ireland under a project part funded by my Department. |
IFORIS contains many layers from various sources. Peer review is normally used to examine an academic paper prior to it being published. The map data used in IFORIS are not subject to the peer review process.
