A major obstacle on the road to finding a resolution of a row between farmers and Dúchas, the Heritage Service, over the protection of one of Ireland's most threatened bird species, the hen harrier, has been removed.
The Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Cullen, has revised his instructions to the Forestry Service and farmers will now be able to plant forestry stands of up to 20 hectares without having to seek an environmental impact survey on any possible effect on the hen harrier.
This move was welcomed by the chairman of the IFA's farm forestry section, Mr Pat Lehane, but he suggested that the threshold should be 25 hectares because areas exceeding this are automatically referred to the relevant local authority for their comments.
While the change in regulations has been welcomed, there are still many problems to be sorted out in the nine areas which Dúchas seeks to designate as protected areas for the hen harrier.
Significant amounts of upland areas in Clare, Cork, Galway, Kerry, Laois, Limerick, Monaghan, Offaly and Tipperary are likely to be affected by the proposed designations.
The likely restriction on farming to save the remaining 130 breeding pairs in the State has infuriated farmers, who are refusing to allow Dúchas inspectors on their lands.
A meeting in Templeglantine, Limerick, attracted an attendance of at least 500 farmers from the region, who made it plain to Dúchas officials that curtailing farming activity to save the endangered bird was not on.