The Department of Agriculture is moving closer to getting the locally-led scheme for the conservation of the hen harrier up and running.

Replying to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil agriculture spokesman Charlie McConalogue last week, Minister Creed said his department expects the successful tenderer for the hen harrier scheme to be offered a contract before the end of February.

“The closing date for the tender was 24 January 2017 and I would expect that the successful tenderer will be offered a contract before the end of February,” Creed said. “The successful tenderer will be directly involved in drawing up the terms and conditions for the new schemes, along with the range of actions to be applied and associated payments.”

Once this stage has been completed, the process of recruiting farmers for a five-year scheme will begin

The minister added that the drawing up stage will be carried out in consultation with officials from his Department and from the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, as well as drawing on local knowledge and inputs from farmers on the ground. Once this stage has been completed, the process of recruiting farmers for a five-year scheme will begin.

Hen harrier scheme

A total budget of €20m has been set aside for the hen harrier conservation scheme, which aims to support farmers who have hen harriers on their land, thereby encouraging them to increase their efforts in terms of protecting the endangered species. The scheme comes under the umbrella of the new locally-led agri environmental schemes.

According to the minister, the hen harrier scheme will benefit up to 2,000 farmers.

Contentious issues

Hen harrier land designation has been a contentious issue for farmers since it was brought in, with them having to undergo greater efforts in relation to compliance than farmers on undesignated land.

Currently, the only compensatory option open to farmers with designated land for hen harriers is through GLAS and GLAS+

No compensation has been received for land designation since the National Parks and Wildlife Service Farm Plan Scheme ended in 2010. Currently, the only compensatory option open to farmers with designated land for hen harrier is through GLAS and GLAS+.

According to a Government survey carried out on the hen harrier in 2015, if the birds’ rate of decline is not halted there could be fewer than 100 pairs of the species in Ireland within 25 years.

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