Fine Gael TD for Limerick Patrick O’Donovan has called on the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan TD, to extend the compensation schemes for landowners whose lands have been designated for hen harrier protection. Deputy O’Donovan who has raised this issue on a number of times over the last three years with the Minister and his colleague the Minister for Agriculture, called for the extension during question time to the Minister last week in the Dáil.
Deputy O’Donovan pointed out to the Minister that he was concerned about the compensation arrangements available to some but not all landowners. Where lands are designated for habitat protection, thereby limiting their use from an agricultural point of view, but no compensation is forthcoming and the landowners in question are left in limbo.
“I believe that those landowners whose farming practices and land uses are restricted by virtue of their designation for the protection of habitats of the Hen Harrier should be compensated properly by the State, in a manner which properly reflects the impact that the designation has.”
“Of the 4,439 landowners whose lands have been designated for this purpose, fewer than 10% are in receipt of compensation, which is remarkable. In my own area land that is suitable for agricultural use – forestry, in particular – is, severely impacted.”
The Minister in his response to Patrick O’Donovan said that there is now an opportunity to deal with the issue through the rural development programme to ensure that those people who are restricted in farming practices, who cannot plant trees and who may have to destock in some cases, are adequately compensated. The Minister also stated that it is envisaged that this approach will be implemented primarily through the proposed green low carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, under the new rural development programme.