Farmers who work with peat soils 'will not be dictated to' - Heydon
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, today (Wednesday, March 5) said that he wants to "reassure farmers who work with peat soils" that they "will not be dictated to while I am in this position".
Speaking in the Dáil today the minister said that "land use has a key role to play in the achievement of our climate targets" and that "farmers will be central to delivering on those targets".
"Nothing will be achieved in this area without their buy-in and support.
"There will absolutely be engagement and transparency all along the way," Minister Heydon stressed.
He also acknowledged the concerns that farmers and farm organisations had voiced about an “exploratory” meeting that was held recently between a number of stakeholders and experts in the area of peat soil restoration.
Minister Heydon sought to play down the meeting in the Dáil telling TDs that "there are 4,000 people working in the Department of Agriculture".
"Meetings happen every day of the week and farmers' organisations are not always at them," he said.
"They are about scoping out and getting key learnings to inform an approach that is taken and to ensure that when I am looking to make financial decisions and put proposals to farm organisations and engage with them on it, I will have clear information on what the experiences have been on the ground.
"There is nothing sinister here. There is nothing untoward," the minister added.
He also stressed in the Dáil today that proposals "would never be agreed without being put to farm organisations for consultation and engagement".
"Ultimately, I am the senior Minister in the Department of Agriculture and I will make decisions after that consultation and taking on board all those points.
"That will not happen without having engaged with the farm organisations, the environmental pillar and all the key stakeholders who have skin in the game.
"I will work with them but I will make sure we are making an informed decision," Minister Heydon said.
