The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers' Association (INHFA) has voiced concern that peatlands, wetland areas and grassland could be included under proposed EU deforestation rules.

The government recently published a general scheme for the Deforestation and Forest Degradation Bill 2026.

This legislation outlines how Ireland will apply and enforce EU’s Deforestation Regulation.

The EU Deforestation Regulation will come into force on December 30, 2026 for large and medium-sized operators and traders.

For individual operators or micro or small enterprises, established by December 31, 2024, the regulation will take not effect until June 30, 2027.

INHFA

INHFA president Pheilim Molloy said the current EU regulation seeks to reduce/eliminate deforestation by not allowing the sale of farm produce off deforested lands.

However, he expressed concern that under Article 34 of the regulation, this can also be extended to include farm produce from peatlands, wetland areas and grasslands.

"This is an alarming prospect that is also included in Ireland’s draft deforestation law which is set to come into force on December 30 2026 for large and medium scale operators and for all others on June 30, 2027," he said.

Molloy said Ireland's draft law includes a proposal that will "empower the Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine to expand the scope of relevant products, relevant commodities and types of land that are subject to the Act".

He said further clarity is provided under the 'scope of the law' headline in the draft where it outlines "other natural ecosystems, including land with high carbon stocks and biodiversity value like grasslands, peatlands and wetlands".

"If this draft legislation comes into force it will provide current or future ministers with unprecedented powers to effectively reclassify lands from agricultural to ecological without needing to bring the matter before our parliament," Molloy claimed.

The INHFA president said the organisation is continuing to assess both the EU and Irish proposals and when completed, it will Ebe in contact with Oireachtas members with a view to a full redraft of the Irish proposals".