Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
2124. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on the LIFE on Machair project; the number of farmers in County Mayo who will be included in this programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42941/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the deputy will be aware, the co-ordinating beneficiary for the Life on Machair project is the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, with my Department being an associate beneficiary.
The aim of the Life on Machair project is to protect and restore machair systems inside the Natura 2000 network. The project will focus on nine Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and four Special Protection Area (SPA) sites in counties Donegal, Mayo and Galway. Across these sites, the emphasis will be on bringing machair habitats back into favourable conservation status.
As part of the project, my officials will be involved in designing a results-based agri-environment measure that will reward participating farmers based around the quality of the habitats involved. The number of farmers involved in this programme will be decided by the project team in due course.
