Approximately 10% to 14% of Irish farmland is occupied by habitats – surpassing the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy target of 10% in many instances.

However, this figure falls to around 5% in some intensive farming systems.

Speaking at a recent land-use and environment webinar, Teagasc’s John Finn quoted National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) data showing that 39% of habitats are in bad condition, 46% are in inadequate condition and 15% are showing favourable trends.

Poor-quality habitats are resulting in a decline in farmland birds and have seen one-third of wild bee species threatened. However, in Ireland, there is no regular monitoring of habitats and species in the wider Irish countryside, apart from the Countryside Bird Survey.

Beef and dairy habitats

Teagasc has conducted surveys across different farm types and found that the majority of hedgerow habitats on beef and dairy farms are of low quality.

Most field margins were classified as acceptable or of low quality and just over 20% of field margins were deemed to be of high quality.

With this in mind, the target should be to improve habitats already on farms, rather than trying to create new habitats.

Results-based payments

Finn described how results-based payment systems, such as the Burren Programme, have been shown to improve habitats and increase biodiversity.

Results-based payments would mean that farmers already delivering high diversity would be rewarded immediately and other farmers would be incentivised to improve habitats on their farms.

It has been widely reported in recent times that the EU Court of Auditors stated that CAP has not halted the decline in EU biodiversity and has not protected wild pollinators.

Results-based payments may form a key part of improving and maintaining habitats on farms in the future.