The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has called for a full impact assessment on the proposed EU nature restoration law in order for farmers to know how many hectares of land will be affected.

IFA environment chair Paul O’Brien is concerned that the targets, which will be legally binding up to 2050, will severely affect production on some farms.

On the back of this, O'Brien and IFA hill farming chair Cáillin Conneely met with representatives from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on Wednesday 16 November to voice farmers' concerns in relation to the proposed EU nature restoration law and its impact on farming.

Full impact assessment

O’Brien called for a full impact assessment to be undertaken to understand the implications of the proposed regulation on agriculture. “Farmers need to know how many hectares of farmland will be impacted and the scope of the proposed restoration measures on these lands,” he said.

He said that in addition to specific restoration measures for agricultural ecosystems, including peaty soils, there are more comprehensive restoration targets encompassing a wide range of habitats and ecosystems that will have implications for farmland.

“It’s essential that productive farmland is not restricted and that farmers' rights are protected," he added.

He stressed that the scale of restoration proposed was daunting and could only be achieved if a dedicated long-term financial mechanism for biodiversity is established that is not dependent on the CAP budget prior to the adoption of the regulation.

Worrying

Conneely said that the proposed regulation was very worrying for farmers in designated areas who were concerned that the measures set out in the regulation will further restrict their ability to farm.

"There must be full engagement with farmers," he said.

The IFA agreed to meet regularly with the Department of Housing as they continued with the process of co-ordinating data from a range of departments to develop a whole-of-Government position.