Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway, Michael Fitzmaurice, has voiced his concerns over the agreement on the EU Nature Restoration Law.
“This law will be a defining moment for farming in more marginal areas, and for communities built around small family farms in the west, northwest, midlands, and southwest,” Fitzmaurice said.
The text sets targets to restore 30% of drained peatlands under agricultural use by 2030, 40% by 2040 and 50% by 2050. However, flexibility will be provided when rewetting peatlands.
Strongly affected member states will be able to apply a lower percentage and reaching rewetting targets does not imply an obligation for farmers and private landowners.
The EU Parliament and EU Council noted that reaching rewetting targets does not imply an obligation for farmers and private landowners.
Deputy Fitzmaurice said: “The agreement on the final wording of the EU’s Nature Restoration Law marks a black day for Ireland.”
“This law, as it stands, places unbearable pressure on our farmers and landowners, especially those on marginal lands,” he added.
MEP and member of the Left in the European Parliament, Mick Wallace, expressed his disappointment on the “lack of ambition” in the final text, particularly in terms of peatlands.
“The percentage area targets for restoration and rewetting are not ambitious enough at all, given the climate and biodiversity crises,” he said adding that it is the “most weakened part” of the law.
Response to the law
The agreement on the Nature Restoration Law has been described as “positive news” for Ireland by Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan.
Welcoming the agreement, Green Party MEP Grace O’Sullivan, said the deal is particularly relevant for Ireland which, she said, has the “most depleted wetland habitats” on the planet.
While the agreed Nature Restoration Law is “not perfect by any stretch of the imagination”, MEP O’Sullivan, who sits on the European Parliament’s key Environment Committee, said:
“It is a crucial step to turning back the clock on our war on nature and discovering the benefits of nature restoration for our economy, our food production, not to mention public health.”
With the agreement on the law last night, a “fair and pragmatic approach won out over a short-sighted attempt to kill off this legislation”, Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe said.
“Although significantly weakened, it offers hope that we can begin to reverse the decline of pollinators and restore our peatlands,” he said adding that a final vote in the parliament is expected in early 2024.