Minister confirms no plans for 'new land designations'
There are no plans for "new land designations", the Minister of State with responsibility for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity has indicated.
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has welcomed what it described as these "firm commitments" from Minister Christopher O’Sullivan.
The deputy president of the ICMSA, Eamon Carroll said that the organisation will now hold government to that commitment.
Minister O'Sullivan has also confirmed that in relation to targets set out in the EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL), which came into force in August 2024, "all aspects of nature restoration, including rewetting is and always has been voluntary.
The minister told Agriland: "There is no obligation within the Nature Restoration Regulation for farmers and private landowners to rewet their lands.
"In accordance with the regulation, we will incentivise rewetting to make it an attractive option for farmers and private landowners.
"There is capacity within state-owned lands to meet the targets.”
Designated land
But according to the ICMSA farmers need trust in the "process around designations to be restored" and commitments on funding to be given.
Carroll added: “We have an opportunity in the coming months and years to finally right the wrongs and the missed opportunities of the last 30 years.
"There needs to be a full costing associated with designations and implementation of the actions required to ensure that both farming and nature can flourish in these areas.
“That’s going to mean a total reset and properly funded actions identified and implemented," the ICMSA deputy president said.
He believes the state's Designated Areas Group should now communicate with farmers who have designated land to inform them of the exact nature of that designation and implications involved.
According to Carroll, there should also be clarity on the government’s obligations and responsibilities which he believes would then ensure "that the farmers are not out of pocket as a result of the state’s decision to designate their land”.
