Future of rural areas cannot be put in jeopardy Offaly meeting told

A clear message given to Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan, Irish farming and rural Ireland cannot be put in jeopardy by any proposed EU Nature Restoration Law at last week’s Proposed EU Nature Restoration Law information meeting in Tullamore.

IFA President Tim Cullinan said Minister Noonan must push back on the current proposals and any future proposals set forward must clearly ensure farmers and future generations can actively farm their land, while safeguarding the future of Rural Ireland.

“The proposals will clearly have a negative effect on the rural economy and the future of Irish farming, and these proposals are being driven from the EU without any clear data or impact assessment,” Tim Cullinan said.

“We must ensure that any Nature Restoration Laws put forward do not have an impact on the future of Irish farming and farmers’ ability to work their land and produce food, these proposals on serve to reduce production and increase our risk to food security,” he said.

IFA National Environment Committee Chair Paul O’Brien said that the much of the focus to date has been proposed targets on restoring and rewetting drained peatlands under agriculture use, however there are more comprehensive restoration targets proposed encompassing habitats and species protected under the Habitats Directive.

Paul O’Brien said that lack of clarity on the potential impact of the proposed regulation on farmland and production is very worrying.

“It is vital that a full impact assessment is undertaken to quantify the area of farmland that will be affected to ensure the proposed targets are realistic and fair and are not detrimental to the continuation of farming,” he concluded.