Regulations will 'wreak havoc' for farmers on marginally peaty land
New regulations will "wreak havoc" for farmers on marginally peaty land according to Independent Ireland TD for Roscommon-Galway, Michael Fitzmaurice.
Almost a year on from first raising concerns about new regulations regarding the drainage of marginal lands composing of peaty and mineral soils, Fitzmaurice said he has been reliably informed that the incoming government intends to pass regulations which would require land owners and farmers to apply for planning permission before they can shore/drain their lands.
“This will have a catastrophic impact on farmers in the west, midlands, north-west and south-west of Ireland," the TD said.
“What is being proposed is that with respect to lands composed of mineral soils over 5ha will need to obtain planning permission in order to shore/land drain their lands.
"However, most alarmingly with respect to peat soils (approximately 10" deep) a land owner would have to obtain planning permission to shore an area as little as 0.2ha which, for context, is little more than the size of a small site for a house," Fitzmaurice added.
The Roscommon-Galway TD said that along the western seaboard and into the midlands, virtually every farmer holds land such as this.
He explained that these lands were always shored or what some farmers call 'land-drained', as it makes farming these lands more sustainable.
“The reality of the new regulations is that farmers with peaty soils will have to go through the expense and aggravation of obtaining planning permission to shore more than 0.2ha of land. And from what I am hearing, it is unlikely planning permission would be easily granted," Fitzmaurice continued.
“Yet again, the government has talked big about supporting farmers and supporting the intergenerational transfer of farm holding but right out of the gate, we see a retrograde regulatory move being prepared to be rubber-stamped, in contravention with the stated objectives in the programme for government that will make it harder for young farmers to survive.
“I am calling on politicians across the spectrum, and farm organisations, to join together and make sure these regulations are not signed into law as it will have a detrimental effect on Irish farming, particularly in areas with marginal land quality.
“If this keeps going the way it is going, it will drive farmers and in particular young people, in the west and midlands of the country out of business and make farming on marginal lands unsustainable," he stressed.
Additionally Fitzmaurice has said: "What this will mean for the BISS [Basic Income Support for Sustainability] payment [Common Agricultural Policy payment] is that without planning permission, a farmer will not be able to make a new drain or land-drain their land, without facing a penalty under the scheme.
"This will be dictated based on the maps that indicate if an area comes under the heading of peaty soil," he concluded.
