The manner in which environmental designations have devalued land was described as “completely and utterly unacceptable” by the chair of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee Jackie Cahill.

Speaking ahead of a committee meeting last week, Deputy Cahill claimed the designation of holdings as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) or Special Protected Area (SPA) had in some instances “completely decimated the capital value of land”.

The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) claims that the State has sought to purchase designated land for as low as €500/ac.

The farm organisation also claimed the current market price of designated ground was in excess of €1,000/ac, but that the designation process had reduced the true value of this land by around 80%.

Impact

The farm body has called for the State to publicly acknowledge the impact of designations on property values and to compensate farmers accordingly.

Responding to queries from the Irish Farmers Journal, a spokesperson for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said: “The NPWS does not have a set pricing strategy for land designated a SAC or SPA.

“Any offer to purchase land is made on a distinct case-by-case basis, based on independent valuations, local conditions and values, and the habitat value of the land in question.”