The concentration of land ownership in many parts of the country “is a problem” according to the Independent TD for Clare, Michael McNamara.
Deputy Michael McNamara, who raised the issue in the Dáil this week, said this is “particularly noticeable” in south Tipperary and in north Clare because activities by the Office of Public Works (OPW) “are creating their own pressures”.
He has also claimed that the “accumulation of thousands of acres of land in the Golden Vale” has resulted in local farmers “being priced out of land at a time when the agriculture sector is already facing excessive operating costs”.
Deputy McNamara highlighted that many EU member states now have measures in place to “control the acquisition of land and the concentration of land ownership”.
The Independent TD for Clare said that these measures ensure that farmers can “hope to increase their land holdings” and large corporations do not buy up blocks of land.
He questioned if the Government plans to examine these types of measures in Ireland and if it will look at existing tax policies and measures around concentration of ownership here.
Ownership
In response the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine told Deputy McNamara that he was aware that this “is an issue in particular areas of the country”.
“We have a land market and there are no such restrictions in place at the moment but it is open to any private individual or member of the parliament to come forward with any suggestions they might wish to propose in that regard,” Minister Charlie McConalogue said.
He said that ownership, and the right of people to sell or acquire land in an open market “is the situation that pertains”.
“Our farming model is based on the family farm and that is certainly something we encourage through public policy and the various schemes that we have in place and through policy supports,” Minister McConalogue added.