An agreement has been reached between Government and forestry and farming groups which will allow afforestation in areas designated for the protection of the hen harrier, one of Ireland's most endangered birds.
A forestry management protocol covering Special Protection Areas important to the hen harrier will be introduced, which will allow an annual quota of new plantings in the six areas involved.
The protection areas, which will be designated shortly, are in the Slieve Bloom mountains (Laois and Offaly); Stack's to Mullaghareirk mountains, West Limerick hills and Mount Eagle (Cork, Kerry and Limerick); Mullaghanish to Musheramore (Cork); Slieve Felim to Silvermines (Limerick and Tipperary); Slieve Beagh (Monaghan) and Slieve Aughty mountains (Clare and Galway).
A blanket ban on planting forestry in the areas concerned to protect the bird had caused conflict between the farmers, foresters and the Government.
The key component of the agreement reached is that an annual quota of new planting will be established for each of the six proposed Special Protection Areas, based on the areas identified as available for planting by National Parks and Wildlife Service, so as to manage and monitor the impact on habitat.
Under the new rules, the heath-bog habitat which is so important for the hen harrier will be fully preserved. The objective will be to establish a mosaic of different landscape types in hen harrier areas that will encourage the further development of the species.
This should include young forestry, both new and replanted, which the recent research has shown to be a vital component in the foraging pattern of the bird.
Making the announcement, the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, said the agreement reached represented a balance between good and sensible environmental practice and the legitimate desire for sustainable development in the areas involved.
The Forest Service will be responsible for processing forestry applications, and will implement the new protocol immediately. All applications for approval to plant in the areas had been suspended pending agreement on the new management regime, but it was now expected that decisions could be made quickly in these cases.
The Irish Farmers' Association's farm forestry chairman John Jackson has welcomed the agreement on a protocol. "A quota system has been allocated for each of the six areas . . . Although planting on heath and bog will be restricted, farmers wanting to plant other types of land should be facilitated by this agreement.
"Any farmers who have been held up from planting over the last few months should be able to plant in the current year," according to Mr Jackson.