Farmers with designated lands need clarity on a ruling made by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in June of 2023 on the habitats directive, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA) has said.

The ruling found Ireland “failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 4(4) and 6(1) of the habitats directive in relation to lands designated as candidate sites for special areas of conservation (SAC)”.

INHFA president Vincent Roddy said clarity is needed on this issue as this has wide reaching implications for farmers with SAC lands and those in derogation, as derogations will have to be compliant with the habitats directive.

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Roddy added that it is important to understand the context behind the ruling which goes back to 1997, where land areas were first identified as possible SAC sites and given the title of candidate SAC sites.

“This candidate status was given to provide protection to these sites while allowing the State through the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to assess them, put in place a management plan for each site and provide legal protection through a statutory instrument.”

Timeframe

“All of this was to be completed within six years and the reason they have a timeframe relates to the fact that, the likelihood of the site remaining the same decreases as time passes, and this could over time result in partial or complete loss of the original habitat,” he said.

Of the 217 sites that were included on the list established by the European Commission in December 2004, no site received official status within the six-year timeframe and it wasn’t until 2018 that the first sites were officially ratified.

While this process has continued over the last seven years there are still sites that have not been legally ratified and given a site-specific management plan as required under articles 4(4) and 6(1) of the habitats directives.

“It’s over two years since the ECJ decision and while the NPWS continue to outline how they are working with the [European] Commission, there is no apparent progress. When you compare this to what happened with Apple Inc and their Irish tax liability there is a growing sense of deja vu here,” Roddy stated.

In the meantime, farmers that are deemed to be non-compliant with SAC regulation can be expected to have heavy penalties under CAP conditionality which is still covered under GAEC nine and the statutory management requirements (SMRs) three and four, Roddy said.

Legal basis

“This as the legal basis for these sites is unclear and will remain so until legal clarity is provided,” he said.

The legal clarifications required here can “be best delivered through the courts, but we don’t believe that the costs for such a legal challenge should be left to a farmer/landowner”, Roddy added.

The INHFA president said Ireland’s president of the European Commission Michael McGrath should refer this to the court order to test its constitutionality.

“This is an urgent issue the State must address and pay for,” he said.