A TD has warned that rural Ireland has to be treated with greater respect if the State’s biodiversity policies are to succeed.
Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice described rural communities as the “frontline workers” in implementing measures to improve biodiversity.
“They are conservers of the land, who genuinely know and respect the land.
“Rural communities are willing and able to engage in change and have done so via actions such as the rewetting of bogs. For this to occur, a dialogue featuring consent and respect, and a spirit of partnership, is required,” he said.
The Roscommon-Galway TD added that “proper consultation and a willingness to listen are critical”.
“With all due respect, we are the people who know the bogs; the fields; the hedgerows, and the rhythms of nature,” he said.
“The so-called ‘experts’ don’t understand these elements of the rural ecosystem, but typically in Irish governance, these are the people who are put in charge. They are all theory and no knowledge and are doing immeasurable harm.
“The required culture of mutual respect is utterly absent in current relations between people living in rural Ireland and those trying to dictate to them.”
The TD claimed that the State is perceived by some people living in rural Ireland as being “hostile and aggressive”.
“This perception is there because the state is in the pockets of interest groups that are instinctively hostile to rural dwellers. These people and their views are embedded across politics and the public sector,” Fitzmaurice said.
“They appear to be intent on the largest programme of rural clearances since the age of landlords. We actually don’t know why they dislike us so much.
“The culture is one of lecturing, hectoring, and wrapping hardworking people in an ocean of red tape when they can’t even count the hedgerows.
“The view of the people in rural Ireland is that those who are in charge of biodiversity want to close down the countryside.
“You cannot secure biodiversity without the support of rural Ireland. You would therefore be advised to change your tune, or we will change the song… and the band too,” Fitzmaurice concluded.
Meanwhile, the fourth meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss recently heard that more focused funding is needed for farmers to be able to preserve and restore biodiversity on their farms.
The 99 randomly selected assembly members heard from several farm organisations including the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA); the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA); and the Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA).