Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 October 2022
65. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the engagements that he has had regarding proposals of the European Union on the change of land designation currently in agricultural use. [53260/22]
View answerI welcome the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, and the Ministers of State, Senator Hackett and Deputy Heydon. There has been quite an amount of commentary about the EU nature restoration law. Unfortunately, that commentary is taking place in a vacuum because we have a Commission proposal but we do not yet have a formal Irish response. What have been the Minister's engagements to date? How does he plan to ensure an informed dialogue can take place in respect of this proposal?
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue.
The proposed nature restoration law was formally adopted by the European Commission in June. The proposals set out legally binding targets in the form of a regulation that will have direct effect across a broad range of ecosystem types, both on land and marine. These proposed targets would require the restoration of parts of these ecosystems to good ecological status by set dates. The proposed regulation has the potential to impact across a number of Irish Departments. In Ireland’s case, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, is responsible for co-ordinating Ireland’s response to the proposals.
The Commission’s proposals are now being discussed by the European Parliament and the Council. It is expected that discussions at Council and European Parliament level will run well into next year before the final regulation is agreed.
We continue to be proactively engage with the NPWS and I will continue to engage with my ministerial colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The key is that we are engaged actively on the matter and we are working hard at national and European level to ensure that our voices are being heard on the matter.
I am aware that farmers and their representatives are concerned about the potential of these proposals but I will work closely with them, as I always have done, to ensure that we will keep farmers doing what they do tremendously well, that is, producing food in a way that is world class and sustainable.
I recognise that this is at an early stage of the process but we can see how the debate is becoming polarised. The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine has had two hearings on this. In one case we have had corrections to statements that have been made. We met with farm organisations, which are incredibly concerned about what this might mean. We have heard from environmentalists who critique anyone who raises any questions at all on this. We know that if we do not approach this correctly that it could create a space for people to manipulate facts and to contort issues but there are genuine concerns. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will have an important role in setting out precisely what the current proposal would mean for Irish farmers and how any negative consequences can be addressed and in outlining how it intends to ensure the farmers' voice is heard at Directorate General level within the European Commission and within the wider European institutions.
I agree. Engagement with farmer representatives will be important in this regard because there is concern. The Deputy is also correct that it is very much at an early stage and is just emerging from European level at this stage. A number of Departments are involved and will be affected. It will be important from a farming point of view and I will meet with farm representative organisations and work closely with Government colleagues to ensure that our issues and concerns are clear at national level and clearly communicated at European level. It is something that I will engage in in a much deeper way with farm representatives. It will go well into next year. I will engage closely over the coming period with farm representative organisations as well as ministerial colleagues on the proposals on the table, the views on them and ensure our national voice and position at European level too.
It would be helpful if the Minister could confirm that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is carrying out an appraisal of the current proposals in respect of what they will mean for land holdings on a county-by-county basis, whether they will mean a reduction in the land that is available for agricultural use and, if that is the case, how that will be managed or how the Government will approach those discussions at European level. We are living in a biodiversity crisis and that will mean that major decisions will have to be made. However, a large portion of the land that may be affected comprises private land holdings that are currently being used to produce good-quality food. We need to approach this sensitively. What would be helpful first is a full appraisal and evaluation of what this could mean if implemented in its current guise. Then we can make the collective decision the Minister spoke of on what Ireland's position needs to be and how we can try to come to that position at EU level.
My team is engaged in assessing the proposals with a view to me engaging further with farmer representative organisations to discuss them. There is also a land-use review under way, which will be important in informing our approach. My Department and myself are centrally involved in that. The issue is important. The regulation and the proposals are getting significant attention from my staff and it is something that I am also paying close attention to. I will engage closely with farmer representative organisations and with ministerial colleagues.
