THE DEPARTMENT of the Environment yesterday confirmed that it is to spend over €200,000 on a conservation programme for one of Ireland’s most endangered species – the corncrake.
With only 127 corncrake breeding males left in Ireland, the bird is threatened by extinction and is mainly confined to west Connacht, Co Donegal and the Shannon Callows.
In response to a judgment by the European Court of Justice ruling that the State had neglected its duty to the corncrake and failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law, the department yesterday unveiled its three-phase €200,000 project to save the corncrake from national extinction.
The first phase of the scheme will be a €90,000 national census.
Field workers are expected to start the count in coming weeks when the migratory bird returns from its winter in Africa.
The second phase will be a €90,000 project to control predators in the vicinity of nesting corncrakes. In the third phase, the department proposes to rent fields from farmers where the corncrake is present to protect it.
