Plea to Cullen on river margins plan
IFA western committee chairman Con Hickey said under proposals already issued to many landowners, the department plans to designate land 30m from the river margin, which will impose severe restrictions.
This land designation is totally unnecessary as farmers are already complying with Good Farming Practice to protect the quality of the water.
Mr Hickey said the review of the SAC regulations must involve a more flexible attitude.
To date, the notification process to farmers has been woefully inadequate. Recent attempts to inform farmers have proven to be a fiasco, with many farmers and rural people getting notification of designations, which did not apply to them at all.
Mr Hickey said a meeting with Department of Environment officials in Dublin earlier this week dealt with many other issues as part of the review process, which was agreed in the recent Partnership Agreement.
These included better notification procedures, putting the appeals process on a statutory footing, and better compensation mechanisms to deal with both income and capital losses.
A further meeting is planned with the department in mid- September when it is envisaged that many of the problems associated with SAC designations can be addressed, he said.
