Written Answers. - Preservation of Corncrakes.
Séamus Hughes
Ceist:
104
Mr. Hughes
asked the
Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht
if he will give details of the scheme operated by his Department to save the corncrake; the resources made available; the grants paid out on a county basis; his views on the success or otherwise of the scheme; and the reason the scheme was discontinued.
[15030/95]
I am committed to the preservation of the corncrake and take this opportunity to applaud those who have worked so hard for so long for this purpose. What I am seeking is the best option for its preservation.
In 1992 a proposal was made by the Irish Wildbird Conservancy and the Royal Society for Protection of Birds to pay grants to farmers for corncrake friendly practices pending the implementation of the rural environment protection scheme. As the take up of REPS was slower than expected, the corncrake grants scheme was continued on a year to year basis. It was never the intention to make it a permanent scheme.
The 1995 corncrake grants scheme was operated in three areas; Shannon Callows, north Donegal and parts of County Mayo. Where mowing was delayed until 1 August the scheme provided for the payment to landowners of grants of £80 per hectare in the Shannon Callows and £120 per hectare in north Donegal and County Mayo. In all three areas an additional grant of £20 per hectare was payable where mowing from the centre of the field outwards was undertaken.
This year the corncrake grants scheme cost some £85,000 and it received Exchequer funding of £60,000 through the National Parks and Wildlife Service with the balance coming from the RSPB. In addition to the £60,000 the IWC, who administer the grants scheme, have been promised funding of £5,000 and £10,000 respectively this year by the NPWS and RSPB for habitat creation measures. I understand also that the costs of the IWC fieldworker network are borne by the RSPB and the EU's LIFE Fund. Between 1992 and the end of 1995 Exchequer funding of £142,000 has been allocated for corncrake conservation measures made up of £133,000 for the corncrake grants scheme — £5,000 in 1992, £13,000 in 1993, £55,000 in 1994 and £60,000 in 1995, £4,000 towards the cost of a survey in 1993 and £5,000 earmarked for habitat creation measures this year.
The information is not available in my Department to enable me to give a breakdown by county of the grants paid under the scheme this year. Total grant payments in the three areas in 1995 were £63,884 in the Shannon Callows, £15,832 in County Mayo and £6,143 in County Donegal.
Corncrake distribution in the three target areas since 1993 is reported as follows:
|
Area
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
|
Shannon Callows
|
88
|
65
|
63
|
|
North Donegal
|
46
|
45
|
88
|
|
County Mayo
|
29
|
19
|
23
|
|
Total
|
163
|
129
|
174
|
I note that the greatest level of increase has been in north Donegal where actual expenditure and take-up of the grant scheme this year was lowest. In the Shannon Callows, where take-up and expenditure was highest, the number of corncrakes dropped slightly between 1994 and 1995 with a significant drop of 28 per cent since 1993. While the overall numbers for 1995 show an increase over the previous year, when the 1993 numbers are taken into account the increase has only been 6.7 per cent. It would appear from this analysis that the evidence as to the relationship between the grants scheme and corncrake numbers is still not conclusive.
This year the action programme for the corncrake is operating independently of REPS. As REPS is now operational I see no good conservation reason why we should not examine the feasibility of a transition from these annual interim payments, which have been in place since 1992, to REPS. I believe the considerable potential presented by REPS should be examined and utilised to maximum advantage for corncrake conservation purposes. The Deputy will be aware from recent announcements that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry has been reconsidering REPS. Officials from the NPWS along with their counterparts in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry are currently exploring the options provided by REPS for corncrake conservation. I intend to review the situation in January 1996 in order to decide whether or not to continue the scheme in 1996.
I can assure the Deputy I do not intend to abandon the present corncrake scheme until such time as I am satisfied that REPS is capable of providing at least the same protection for this endangered species.
