Almost 150 Burren farmers are to receive €942,000 in payments under the 2014 Burren Farming for Conservation Programme (BFCP).

Fine Gael TD for Clare, Pat Breen, welcomed the announcement and said the Burren is one of Ireland's outstanding landscapes.

The payments to 148 farmers brings the allocation to participating famers to almost €5 million over five years.

Mr Breen said: "The funding from this scheme comes from unused Single Farm Payment funds which have been used to repair over 89,000 meters of stone walls, remove by hand 214 hectares of invasive scrub from rich grasslands and ancient monuments. This funding has also been used to reopen over 137 km of paths enabling livestock access to under-grazed grasslands. Hundreds of water supplies have been protected resulting in improved water quality in this very sensitive karst landscape.

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"This is the first farming conservation programme of its kind and it is extremely important for farmers in the Burren area. This scheme has been made a success by farmers themselves, the Burren IFA, Teagasc and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, as well as many other stakeholders."

(CD/IT)