There have been 692 farmers accepted into the new Hen Harrier Programme, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has said.

“Recruitment into the programme is done on a monthly basis by the project team and this process is expected to continue for several months yet,” Minister Creed said in response to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil TD Jackie Cahill.

The Hen Harrier Programme opened for farmer applications on 8 December and the €25m scheme is targeting 1,100 to 1,200 participants from hen harrier designated areas.

Giving a breakdown of farmers accepted on to the programme, Minister Creed said that 516 of the participants were farming more than 20ha.

There are 68 participants with less than 10ha, 61 farmers with between 10-15ha and 47 participants are farming between 15-20ha.

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