Midlands north west MEP Maria Walsh has voiced support for increased transparency in the land market, along with “checks and balances” on the buying and selling of land.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal in Brussels, Walsh said that the costs of accessing land is difficult for farmers who are unable to avail of supports in play “like if you were to start an SME in tech where you can get supports from your Local Enterprise Office”.

“I would love to see that and that for me would really bear fruit. Look, if I say the word ‘regulation’ I could get in trouble but we do need to have checks and balances in terms of who is buying and accessing land,” she commented.

ADVERTISEMENT

The European Commission is to unveil plans to introduce an EU-land observatory later this year which tracks trends in the land market allowing member states more information to regulate the market as they see fit, as well as to bring transparency to changes in land ownership.

“Where I do want to see additional change is in knowing how many farmers have no will and testimony because there is a considerable amount of land caught in probate or there is no succession plan in place.”