Agriculture Committee to question Department on Hen Harrier Scheme delays

The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine will discuss the matter when it meets tomorrow with representatives from Irish Farmers with Designated Land and Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Committee Chair, Pat Deering TD said today, “The long-awaited €35m Hen Harrier Scheme has still not progressed beyond planning stages and is a cause of huge frustration and concern for farmers. Farmers on designated lands are subject to many severe restrictions on their farming activities, including planting forestry, and they are still not being granted the compensation they have been promised. Tomorrow the Committee will hear directly from some of the affected farmers and we will also question the Department as to why the scheme has still not been rolled out.”

Prior to this, the Committee will conduct scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals:  Schedule B: COM(2017)774.

The meeting will start at 3.30pm in Committee Room 1, Leinster House.

Committee proceedings can be viewed live here

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.