The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, has announced the commencement of a review of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (Agriculture) Regulations and the opening of a public consultation to inform the review process.
The EIA (Agriculture) Regulations apply to three different on-farm activities:
- Restructuring of rural land holdings (boundary removal and/or recontouring of land);
- Commencing to use uncultivated land or semi-natural areas for intensive agriculture;
- Land drainage works on lands used for agriculture (excluding drainage or reclamation of wetlands).
The regulations provide for an assessment of the environmental impact of certain projects before they can proceed.
Wetlands (as defined in the EIA guidance document) are not covered by the EIA (Agriculture) Regulations.
Planning permission is required for the drainage or reclamation of wetlands in excess of 0.1ha (or below that having a significant effect on the environment).
The objective of the public consultation process is to invite stakeholders to feed into a review of these regulations which were first published in 2011.
In opening the public consultation, Minister McConalogue said: “We have committed to a review of these regulations in the Programme of Government and our CAP [Common Agricultural Policy] Strategic Plan, and I am delighted to announce the opening of this consultation.
“This review gives us an opportunity to consider and update the regulations as necessary to ensure they are balanced in terms of allowing agricultural changes which do not significantly affect the environment, while also providing protection for land and biodiversity features of environmental importance.”
Minister of State Pippa Hackett added: “It is vital that we protect environmentally important habitats and the species that depend on these habitats.
“This review is an important Programme for Government commitment and it will help us to ensure that the EIA Regulations are strengthened where necessary to provide robust environmental safeguards.”
Members of the public are advised to email observations or comments to [email protected] by July 10, 2022.