Hen harrier land compo anger rises

THE unresolved issue of protecting a bird prey will land on the desk of the new Arts and Heritage Minister, Heather Humphreys.

Frustration is growing among landowners in designated areas who say they are losing thousands of euro because of EU regulations to conserve the hen harrier.

In the six Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in Ireland for the bird, there are bans on activities such as forestry, land reclamation and wind farming which farmers argue, make their land worthless. Land for forestry can fetch between €4,000 and €6,000 per acre, but SPA land cannot be planted.

Ms Humphreys’ predecessor, Jimmy Deenihan, had been under pressure to get new compensation payments for people whose land has been designated for hen harrier protection. Anger has been voiced at public meetings and more than 200 people attended a recent IFA meeting, in Charleville, Co Cork.

The Ballydesmond and Rockchapel areas, along the border between counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick, are among the hardest hit and Sean Kelly, a civil engineering contractor and landowner in the area, said he had never seen farmers so angry in his 36 years working there.

In 2007, the European Court of Justice found that Ireland had failed in its obligations regarding the hen harrier. Farmers are not allowed plant trees in the SPAs under EU law.

The Government acknowledges there’s a problem and Mr Deenihan has convened an inter-departmental group to address the issues.

The group will aim to provide clarity to all parties, including landowners and relevant state departments, on the management of SPAs and how any approvals for forestry and wind farms will be structured.

According to the department, farmers have been paid €11m by the Government for implementing measures aimed at conserving hen harriers on their lands. A total of 377 farmers received an average payment of €29,177. Habitat loss in the last 40 years has led to a sharp decline in hen harrier numbers and there are now an estimated 144 birds in the designated SPAs.

The previous compensation package, for which only some farmers in designated areas were approved, was suspended in 2010 and the IFA is now asking that the designation be removed, or that farmers be ‘’adequately compensated for this burden on their land’’. The IFA will be urging Minister Humphreys to negotiate a new deal for those in designated hen harrier areas.