The EU’s proposed nature restoration law, this year’s new nitrates rules and farming’s emissions will feature prominently in the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture’s work schedule early this year.

Committee chair Jackie Cahill TD said these environmental targets and regulations will dominate much of the committee’s discussions, given their potential to affect farmers.

“The nature restoration policy will be a big one. The committee will give this EU policy a good look, it needs fair scrutiny,” Cahill told the Irish Farmers Journal.

This European Commission proposal seeks to restore habitats to favourable condition, inside and outside of existing land designations.

One aspect of the Commission’s nature plans that the Oireachtas committee sat on last year was the section of the draft law which seeks to rewet drained farmland on peat soils.

“The emissions battle will be another big one. Our focus will always be to reduce emissions without impacting production and that’s where we will look to take it.”

Cow banding and Coillte

New cow banding rules introduced by the Department of Agriculture this month will be another area of discussion for the committee, Cahill continued.

“There are a lot of questions being posed by farmers over the banding, a lot of focus is on it.

“We will we be asking these questions, seeing if the rules make sense. A lot of farmers are quite confused about what it all means and what effect it is going to have.”

Coillte’s moves to sell off 12,000ha of forestry and lands suitable for planting to a UK investment agency have also attracted the attention of Cahill in planning the Oireachtas committee’s 2023 agenda.

“Coillte will be another issue that we will bring before the committee. I would have a lot of misgivings around the Coillte deal and these funds.”

Horses and fertiliser database

The committee will also examine issues that full under its remit outside of the agri-food sector.

Chief among these issues will be recent developments in Horse Sport Ireland.

“A lot of people have been asking us to have Horse Sport Ireland in and to see where the industry is going,” Cahill went on.

The TD said that he expects the Government bill establishing the national fertiliser and animal prescription databases to go back to the Dáil in the last week of January.

“After it goes back to the Dáil, it will go back to us [the committee]. That is routine, it is always happening with pieces of legislation,” he added.