Irish farmers spared deforestation paperwork under new EU rules by Department of Agriculture
Department of Agriculture is developing a system that will make the EUDR declaration on behalf of farmers.
No extra paperwork is expected for Irish farmers when the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is enforced in 2027, because the Department of Agriculture is developing a system that will make the EUDR declaration on behalf of farmers.
“We are looking at a solution that will not place an extra paperwork burden or requirement on Irish farmers,” said the department’s assistant secretary general Damien Flynn.
The regulation is designed to minimise the EU's contribution to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide. It covers cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood, and products that contain, have been fed with, or have been made using the seven commodities.
They may only be placed or made available on the EU market, or exported, if they are deforestation-free, produced in accordance with legislation, and are covered by a due diligence statement or a simplified declaration.
The EUDR will take effect from December 30 next, but is delayed to June 30 for individual operators or micro or small enterprises.
Ireland, like all EU member states, is classified in a low-risk category. Hence, a single, one-time simplified declaration that their produce is not coming from deforested lands suffices for placing produce on the market or exporting it, instead of due diligence statements.
“An Irish beef farmer will not have to submit a due diligence statement to the EU system”, said Mr Flynn, during the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food’s recent pre-legislative scrutiny of the bill to give effect to the EUDR in Ireland.
“We hold a lot of information on our AIM system around traceability. We are developing a system that will be able to make this declaration for farmers, based on the information we have, and share it on the information system with the EU, as needed.”
“They only have to do a one-off declaration and, especially for wood, cattle and beef, we are developing a system to do that for them.”
He said there would not be a requirement for geolocation of plots of land on Irish farms. “The postal address of the farmer is provided for, in the simplification of the regulation.”
There will be more demanding requirements for operators with turnover exceeding €15m, with balance sheet totals exceeding €7.5m, and more than 50 employees.
TDs and senators on the committee opposed the legislation on grounds it could be extended at EU level to grasslands, peatlands or wetlands, and it could restrict what Irish farmers do with their land.
The Irish legislation proposed includes an exemption for trees in a forest whose removal is required for a local authority development already authorised under planning legislation.
For EUDR offences, on conviction on indictment, the proposed maximum penalty is the greatest of €10m, 4% of the person's EU-wide turnover in the financial year before sentencing, or the potential economic benefit gained from the offence, or imprisonment for up to three years, or both. On summary conviction, the maximum is a Class A fine, six months' imprisonment, or both.
Administrative offences, such as record-keeping and public reporting, are summary offences only, with a maximum Class A fine.
On conviction on indictment, the court may also order forfeiture of the products concerned and of revenues from them, exclusion from public procurement and public funding for up to 12 months, temporary prohibition from the market or exporting, and prohibition of using simplified due diligence.
