Farmers fear EU nature law will devalue property

INHFA says concerns vindicated by Minister O’Donovan’s reservations

Property values will be impacted by the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, which has been described as “far more draconian than designations”.

Government Ministers clashed on the potential impact of the law that was passed by MEPs last week.

The controversial bill, which was backed by the European Parliament, will mandate that every EU country must have restoration measures in place by 2030, covering at least 20pc of EU land and sea areas.

While measures to restore drained peatlands are included, rewetting will remain voluntary for farmers and private landowners, and anyone who does will be compensated.

Despite this, IFA President Francie Gorman said a vacuum of information still exists around the Nature Restoration Law and fundamental concerns remain regarding the proposed regulation. These include a lack of clarity on the requirements and impact of certain definitions, uncertainty on the potential impact on farmland and production, and the lack of dedicated funding to support the implementation of regulation.

However, INHFA President Vincent Roddy went further, claiming the law was tantamount to the EU” taking control of land”.

Dictate

“They are going to dictate to landowners what is going to happen on that land for a perceived public good and that is a departure,” he said.

“It’s far more draconian than the designations. With the designations, you were told what you can’t do — here, you are going to be dictated what you have to do.”

Roddy said the new laws would give environmentalists a new avenue to “weaponise the legal system”.

“Where does that leave the value of the land? Who will want to buy that land? You’re already restricted in what you can do,” he said.

“We have already seen this with designated land. There are examples of the NPWS [National Parks and Wildlife Service] offering as low as €400€500/ha for designated land because no farmer was going to buy it.”

Roddy said farmer concerns can no longer be dismissed after a Government minister also raised serious concerns over the consequences of the new law.

Speaking on Radio Kerry, Patrick O’Donovan, Minister of State with responsibility for OPW, said the law had not been properly debated and implications for individual property owners had not been “properly thrashed out”.

“I am worried about it,” he said. “There is no point saying otherwise. I was disappointed, to put it mildly, that most of Ireland’s MEPs voted for it.

“If anybody tells me this is going to come without consequences and it is just public land, that is just not true.”

Land Use Minister Pippa Hackett, a Green Party TD, said yesterday that Mr O’Donovan’s comments were “unhelpful” and “inconsistent” with the agreed Government position.

Her colleague, Minister of State with responsibility for Nature, Malcolm Noonan, said large-scale restoration of nature has the potential to provide additional income streams for farmers, foresters, fishers and other landowners.

Stimulate

“It will create jobs and stimulate downstream industries, such as eco-tourism, bringing real stimulus to rural economies,” said Minister Noonan.

“Tens of thousands of farmers across the country are already taking part in schemes, projects and programmes to restore nature. I have seen for myself

the amazing work they are doing.”

Meanwhile, Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, said throughout the debate on the laws, his ambition has been to ensure they achieve their key nature restoration objectives while still allowing farmers to continue to farm their land in a sustainable way.

“The current proposals differ in a number of important respects from those originally presented by the Commission and are much more balanced and practical,” he said.

“Farmers can have confidence now that no changes will be forced on them and that they can continue to produce the high-quality food that Ireland is renowned for.”