The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has called on the Department of Agriculture to quickly reverse the proposed changes to eco-scheme calculations.

IFA rural development chair John Curran highlighted how farmers have invested and bought in "hugely" to the voluntary eco schemes and into the space for nature option, in particular where parts of the farm are preserved and allocated specifically for biodiversity and habitat benefits.

“Now, some farmers are getting letters to say that features which were eligible previously, such as hedgerows, trees and stonewalls adjacent to farmyards, are no longer eligible for space for nature calculations.

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Farmers will risk penalties

“It just doesn’t make sense. If implemented, they will dilute the efforts of farmers because of technical adjustments and may mean farmers will either have to chose additional eco schemes to preserve payments, or risk penalties," Curran argued.

The Farmers’ Charter of Rights provides that the Department will fully consult with the farming organisations on all scheme details and discuss any changes to terms and conditions in a timely manner.

However, there has been no consultation or engagement by the Department on this, according to Curran. This, he added, is despite there being a charter meeting in mid-December.

“This re-calculation needs to be scrapped, and all 'space for nature' features included and accounted for in eco-scheme payments,” Curran concluded.