Farmers to oppose plan for Shannon estuary

Farmers are to oppose plans by Dúchas, the Heritage Service, to put in place the long-awaited management conservation plan for the Shannon estuary.

After almost three years of preparation, Dúchas is to shortly publish the plan for the estuary as a result of its designation as a proposed Special Area of Conservation (pSAC).

The plan, which has been obtained by The Irish Times through a Freedom Of Information request, runs to 84 pages and is to be formally published this summer. A comprehensive consultation period with all interested parties will take place.

With an area of 160,452 acres, it is the second-largest pSAC in the country behind Killarney National Park and impacts on four counties; Limerick, Clare, Tipperary and Kerry.

The site - it encompasses the lower Shannon from Killaloe to Loop and Kerry Heads at the mouth of the estuary - also contains 14 proposed National Heritage Areas (pNHAs).

The IFA president, Mr John Dillon, whose land borders the area, said yesterday there would be no co-operation from farmers until Dúchas provided compensation to farmers if their land and practices were to be affected by SAC designation.

Already Limerick farmers are facing restrictions due to the presence of a protected bird, the hen harrier, in parts of Limerick.

Mr Dillon said: "Farmers' land will be devalued as a result of this Shannon plan, and there has to be compensation, and until then, Dúchas stay out."

The plan says farmers can appeal the SAC designation of a site on a scientific basis or any conservation actions.

Dúchas considers the SAC site "to be of international importance", and it is home to 18 habitats listed in Annex 1 of the EU Habitats Directive. It also contains six species in Annex 2 of the directive.

These include Ireland's only resident group of dolphins. Since 1998 dolphin-watching trips on the Shannon have increased by 400 per cent to 468 last year. However, Dúchas is proposing to control the time allowed to view dolphins in summer.

The plan says: "This time will be increased incrementally following discussions with operators providing monitoring shows that no detrimental effect on the dolphins or habitat has occurred."

Some of the other protected species in the estuary include such as the pale-bellied Brent goose, the golden plover and the redshank, while it also supports Mediterranean salt meadows and the freshwater pearl mussel.

Outlining its objectives, the plan seeks to increase the integrity and ecological value of the priority habitat and to maintain the population of rare, annexed and important species.

It says these objectives will be achieved through liaison with other authorities to regulate development and incidences of pollution, promote sustainable grazing and liaise with stakeholders.

The implementation of the plan, however, is expected to place additional restrictions on farmers whose land borders the estuary and rivers feeding into it, such as the Fergus, Mulkear and Kimastulla.

The plan states that in an effort to manage grazing on lands bordering the Special Area of Conservation, "Dúchas is currently engaged in negotiations with the Department of Agriculture, the IFA and ICMSA to agree a set of farming prescriptions along riverbanks".

On farming practices within the area, the plan notes that "chemical fertilisers, lime and slurry are applied regularly".