Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 February 2018
77. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason pressure has not been brought to bear on the EU Agriculture Commissioner to financially support the land owners of hen harrier designated land (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7014/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt the outset, I would like to say that neither I or my Department have a role in regards to the designation of land. That function is exercised by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
However, as part of our current Rural Development Plan, my Department seeks to address a wide range of environmental objectives, involving farmers in different ways and paying for additional actions undertaken and income foregone. This includes supporting farmers with lands which have been designated for conservation of the Hen Harrier, and this is an ambition fully supported by the EU.
GLAS is the main mechanism for addressing these challenges, and conservation of the Hen Harrier is a priority action under that Scheme. Farmers with Hen Harrier habitat qualified automatically for GLAS under Tier One, with some of the highest per hectare payments as well - €370 per hectare up to the standard ceiling of €5,000 per annum, with automatic qualification for GLAS Plus as well, should they manage sufficient habitat. GLAS Plus brings potential payment for managing Hen Harrier habitat up to €7,000 a year. I am delighted to say that there are currently 2,674 farmers in GLAS taking the Hen Harrier action and this represents nearly 70% of all farmers with Hen Harrier land. By any standards, this is a remarkable achievement and the scale of this level of co-ordinated intervention could have real impact on the survival of the bird.
However, in developing the current RDP, my Department also wanted to build in the possibility for testing different ways of approaching agri-environmental issues on the ground – and this included how we might try to help both the Hen Harrier and farmers in Hen Harrier areas. We wanted to experiment with a more agile ‘locally-led’ model which could be used to test new ways of doing things and, perhaps most importantly, new ways of engaging farmers and involving them much more directly in developing ideas and solutions.
This is the process out of which the new Hen Harrier Programme has grown. While funded and supported by the Department, it is not a Department scheme as such – it is a partnership involving many different players and is active in all six SPAs. As well as seeking to protect the future of the bird, it explicitly seeks to create a stronger socio-economic outlook for the agricultural communities in those areas and to promote positive relations with those communities, who have managed these sensitive landscapes for generations. The new Hen Harrier Programme has been designed by a locally-led Project Team working in close collaboration with the farmers on the ground in those areas. I am delighted to say that interest in the scheme is exceptionally high with over 1,200 applications already received. Worked examples show that a farmer with 15 hectares could earn up to €3,000-€4,000 a year, while a farmer with 40 hectares could actually get up to €6,000-€7,000 a year. This could be in addition to what is paid under GLAS, depending on the circumstances and actions taken.
I have allocated €25m to the new Locally-Led programme and taken in combination with payments under GLAS to Hen Harrier farmers, we anticipate that total payments to farmers in these areas will be close to €90m over the course of the current Rural Development Programme. These payments are fully co-funded by the EU and testify to the ongoing commitment of both the Irish Government and the EU to support farmers in Hen Harrier areas.
