It is estimated that there are 35,000 farmers that have designated land. There are three types of designated land: Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Special Protected Area (SPA) or Natural Heritage Area (NHA).
In terms of land area, there are 1,694,743ha of SAC, 53% of which is land, 570,000ha of SPA, both marine and land, and 60,000ha of NHA, which is mostly made up of bog.
These include spreading fertiliser, spreading slurry and erecting fences.
There are 38 activities requiring consent, formerly known as notifiable actions, which require landowners to get permission from the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht before they can be carried out. It is an offence for a farmer to carry out an activity without permission.
In some cases, the full 38 activities do not apply to all SACs and SPAs. Some might have 10 activities which require consent for example.
Activities include:
Significant changes in livestock density (including introduction of grazing), changes in livestock type or grazing season, other than on established reseeded grassland.** Supplementary feeding of livestock.*Reclamation, including infilling, of land.Construction, removal or alteration of fences, stone walls, hedgerows, banks or any field boundary other than temporary electric fencing.Burning, topping, clearing scrub or rough vegetation or reseeding (not required for these activities on established reseeded grassland or cultivated land provided it is greater than 20m from a river, stream or floodplain; or greater than 50m from a wetland, lake, turlough or pond).Applying inorganic or organic fertiliser, including slurry and farmyard manure, and applying lime.* Application of pesticides, including herbicides.*Drainage works including digging, deepening, widening or blocking a drain, watercourse or waterbody. Felling of trees or removing timber, including dead wood.Planting of trees or multi-annual bioenergy crops.Agricultural improvement of heath or bog.All activities related to turf cutting.*Consent is not required for these activities on established reseeded grassland or cultivated land provided it is greater than 20m from a river, stream or floodplain; or greater than 50m from a wetland, lake, turlough or pond.
**Consent is not required for changes of less than 20% in livestock density unless notice has been given that a lower percentage is applicable to a particular site.
There are also 148 Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs) which are all bogs, either raised or blanket, and landowners are required to apply for permission from the minister to carry out certain works.
It is estimated that there are 35,000 farmers that have designated land. There are three types of designated land: Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Special Protected Area (SPA) or Natural Heritage Area (NHA).
In terms of land area, there are 1,694,743ha of SAC, 53% of which is land, 570,000ha of SPA, both marine and land, and 60,000ha of NHA, which is mostly made up of bog.
These include spreading fertiliser, spreading slurry and erecting fences.
There are 38 activities requiring consent, formerly known as notifiable actions, which require landowners to get permission from the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht before they can be carried out. It is an offence for a farmer to carry out an activity without permission.
In some cases, the full 38 activities do not apply to all SACs and SPAs. Some might have 10 activities which require consent for example.
Activities include:
Significant changes in livestock density (including introduction of grazing), changes in livestock type or grazing season, other than on established reseeded grassland.** Supplementary feeding of livestock.*Reclamation, including infilling, of land.Construction, removal or alteration of fences, stone walls, hedgerows, banks or any field boundary other than temporary electric fencing.Burning, topping, clearing scrub or rough vegetation or reseeding (not required for these activities on established reseeded grassland or cultivated land provided it is greater than 20m from a river, stream or floodplain; or greater than 50m from a wetland, lake, turlough or pond).Applying inorganic or organic fertiliser, including slurry and farmyard manure, and applying lime.* Application of pesticides, including herbicides.*Drainage works including digging, deepening, widening or blocking a drain, watercourse or waterbody. Felling of trees or removing timber, including dead wood.Planting of trees or multi-annual bioenergy crops.Agricultural improvement of heath or bog.All activities related to turf cutting.*Consent is not required for these activities on established reseeded grassland or cultivated land provided it is greater than 20m from a river, stream or floodplain; or greater than 50m from a wetland, lake, turlough or pond.
**Consent is not required for changes of less than 20% in livestock density unless notice has been given that a lower percentage is applicable to a particular site.
There are also 148 Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs) which are all bogs, either raised or blanket, and landowners are required to apply for permission from the minister to carry out certain works.
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