“I intend to introduce a further measure under the Locally Led Agri-Environment Scheme to cater for those farmers who are farming large tracts of Hen Harrier Land,” Coveney said in a statement on Friday. The Minister emphasised that such farmers should join GLAS – the second tranche of which has now opened to applications. “By joining GLAS now farmers in Hen Harrier areas are assuring themselves of benefiting from the generous payments under that scheme. Farmers with large tracts of hen harrier designated land will then be eligible to also apply for the new LLAES measure when it is up and running.”

If all farmers concerned applied, this would represent €23m annually, which the department says would be a significant increase compared with previous schemes.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that the new hen harrier scheme will have national rather than Brussels funding.

Over 167,000ha is designated as Special Protection Areas (SPAs) due to the presence of hen harrier birds, almost 1,000ha per breeding pair. Located in areas across Kerry, Cork, Limerick, Clare, Tipperary, Offaly, Laois, Galway, and Monaghan, about half is afforested, with 20% bog or moorland, and 30% farmed. Hen harrier SPAs are effectively sterilised from further forestry planting.

A report launched by the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee this week recommended that farmers in hen harrier SPAs should be compensated through a “separate dedicated payment scheme”. The LLAS is “not the proper vehicle”, as the €70m allocated would not cover it, the Burren and fresh water mussel schemes.

MEP Sean Kelly has been active on behalf of farmers, who formed a representative group called Irish Farmers with Designated Lands (IFDL). Lobbying by IFA and this group seems to now be yielding a result.

About 10% of affected farmers have received €13m in total under a Farm Plan Scheme, which closed to new applicants in 2010 and has now ended. Others received a €2,000/annum top-up to their REPS payment. A similar GLAS+ scheme exists, but this has been described as insufficient.