The Government supports the nature restoration law at European level. That law contains some important and admirable ambitions. The problem is that there is a lack of a dedicated funding mechanism, or any funding mechanism at all, for farmers who will be required to reduce or abandon farming activity on lands governed by the law.

At a domestic level, the Government stopped funding the BurrenLIFE project and the hen harrier project in respect of farms on designated lands. The Minister was to discuss with his Cabinet colleagues, in particular the Minister with responsibility for heritage, whether there was any possibility of finding funding to restart these important projects. Has he had any success? Are those projects going to be restarted soon?

Colleagues and I worked hard at European level to ensure that the nature restoration law was significantly adjusted so that it would be appropriate to Irish circumstances. If the law is passed, the onus will be on us as a country to put our own plan together for how to implement it. We have been clear that CAP funding cannot be impacted in any way by whatever needs arise in that regard. That is a commitment from the Government.

The BurrenLIFE project, which was a European innovation partnership project, was a temporary pilot in nature and has been subsumed into the wider ACRES programme. As such, there are more people taking part in it now and it spreads the production and positive outcomes that can happen. A small number of farmers with larger landholdings who were involved in the initial pilot have seen their payments reduced. I am examining that matter to determine how we might respond.