Need to seek planning permission before reclaiming land ‘ludicrous’

FARM groups have said a new obligation to seek planning permission before reclaiming land runs counter to Ireland’s reputation for environmental excellence, and could slow down succession on the family farm.

IFA president John Bryan said existing EU hedgerow regulations and Ireland’s Wildlife Acts provide sufficient protection for soil and habitats.

He described as “ludicrous and totally disproportionate to the pressures on the environment” the new legislation requiring farmers to apply for permission to county councils and the Department of Agriculture when doing land reclamation, drainage works or removing field boundaries.

“The Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, and the Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan, must move immediately to find a workable solution as the measures proposed represent a further encroachment by the state on farmers’ property rights and ignore requirements already legislated for.”

He said the Wildlife Acts already restrict farmers from cutting hedges, while EU cross-compliance requires a farmer to prevent soil damage, and to maintain boundaries and habitats. The proposals ignore existing obligations and impose an additional layer of costs and compliance measures, restricting competitiveness and growth, he said.

“Farmers have a good environmental record, planting 10,000km of new hedgerows, building over 3,000km of stonewalls, planting one million broadleaf native trees and recycling almost 20,000 tonnes of plastic during 2010. Over €2 billion was also spent bringing farms up to the highest environmental standard. This proposed legislation is not progressive and is excessive when considered against the existing measures in place.”

Macra na Feirme president Alan Jagoe said the changes will seriously impact on young farmers who inherit or take over underdeveloped farms.

“Farms inherited by young farmers can often be underdeveloped and need improvement, drainage or restructuring works, for example, a scenario where the replacement or improvement of old drainage in wet fields would require prior approval and maybe even an Environmental Impact Assessment is ludicrous. We need a commonsense approach and adequate and realistic exemption thresholds to prevail.

“Irish farmers have demonstrated their ability to enhance the environment and many of these new restrictions are already governed under cross-compliance and good agricultural practice.

“Placing another layer of bureaucracy and cost on farmers is just making Irish agriculture, which is one of the most environmentally friendly in the EU, totally uncompetitive. This is a key resource for the Irish economy.”