The area of land which could be subject to rewetting in Ireland could be doubled to 49,890ha by 2030 under the European Parliament’s proposed version of the Nature Restoration Law.
This is according to Fianna Fáil MEP for Ireland south, Billy Kelleher who said that it is “abundantly clear” that the European Parliament’s current text is “too onerous” on Ireland.
An analysis carried out by the MEP’s office compares the currently proposed versions of the law by the European Commission, the EU Council, and the European Parliament.
In comparison to the commission’s original proposal, the MEP said that the parliament seeks to increase Ireland’s rewetting target from 116,515ha to 153,800ha by 2050.
The analysis shows that rewetting carried out by Bord na Móna would only cover Ireland’s overall commitments under the 2030 and 2040 targets as proposed by the council and commission, he said.
“Under the parliament’s position, additional private agricultural land would need to be rewetted,” MEP Kelleher said.
The rewetting targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050 as proposed by each EU institution, according to the MEP, are as follows:
Institution 2030 2040 2050 EU Council 24,968ha 66,580ha 83,225ha European Commission 24,968ha 83,225ha 116,515ha European Parliament 49,890ha 109,857ha 153,800ha
While the MEP stressed he will do his “best” to bring the final decision closer to the council’s position, he said this “may not be possible”.
Bord na Móna plans to rewet 33,000ha in over 80 of its bogs. Farmers have expressed their concerns about the rewetting of lands adjacent to their farm which could result in flooding.
In his latest comments on the Nature Restoration Law, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said that rewetting targets could be “entirely met from state-owned land”.
However, this is subject to full agreement of all three EU institutions. The European Parliament plans to adopt its legislative report on Wednesday (May 24).
Nature Restoration Law
The executive vice president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans attended a meeting of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development today (Monday, May 22).
Timmermans criticised some MEPs for claiming that there has not been any impact assessment carried out on the proposed law. “There are 600 pages of impact assessment on the law,” he said.
“My offer stands, give us concretely what you don’t like and we will discuss it. If we want to find solutions let us be guided by the facts and not by myths,” Timmermans told the committee.
The MEP also raised concerns about how other elements of the proposed law could impact on housing in Ireland, including proposals regarding no net-loss of green space in urban areas.
While these proposals might seem “harmless”, he said the definition of green space as it stands could mean a limitation on the ability to build on certain types of land in Ireland’s towns and cities.
“We can restore our habitats in a meaningful way but we need to do it in conjunction with farmers and communities. We are talking about their livelihoods and that needs to be understood by decision makers in Brussels,” he said.