The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association is calling for a full renegotiation of all land
designations that will properly recognise the huge burden these designations places on
landowners property.
INHFA spokesperson on designations, Shaunie Boyle, has described the designations as the “biggest land-grab since Cromwell” and said how the lack of consultation with landowners when the designations were first introduced left a very bitter taste.
This has since being compounded by the continued erosion of property rights with landowners seeing further restrictions imposed on them – once again without consultation, the association said.
These designations, in the form of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC’s) Special Protected
Area (SPA’s) or National Heritage Areas (NHA’s), cover approximately 14% of the country.
However for many farmers, Boyle said that they have restricted their ability, to realise the
full value of what their land can deliver, either through agriculture, development or other
actions and has effectively sterilised farmers’ land.
Presently those with designated sites are restricted from carrying out normal agricultural activities such as fencing, reclamation or ploughing, digging or infilling, increasing or reducing your stocking rates or type of stock, controlled burning, applying fertilizer lime or farm yard manure.
In total there are 39 activities requiring consent and Boyle has said that even if consent was achieved, “often means a financial cost to the farmers through the requirement of planning”.
While accepting the need to protect vulnerable sites and species, Boyle pointed to the
fact that no recognition has being given to the farmers who, through various actions and
practices had delivered sites worth protecting.
“The most important person in all of this has to be the farmer. If these sites are to be maintained (because it is a managed landscape) then we need to allow farmers to manage them.
“Many ‘environmentalists’ don’t get the need to manage these sites, and also don’t get the fact that on hills we carry livestock as a management tool to keep the vegetation controlled and with ever increasing traffic volumes in the interests of public safety we need the right to fence these lands.”
Boyle concluded by saying that these designations now need to be fully renegotiated and ensure landowners get their say on this occasion.