Professor Mark Scott:

I thank the committee for the invitation to speak today. I co-authored the report on the socioeconomic dimensions for land use for phase 1 of the land use review. I currently chair the Government's technical working group for phase 2 of the land use review.

Obviously, our focus is on how we use land. We consider land as a fundamental and finite resource with human and environmental dimensions. Land and its various uses provide the foundation of our national economic prosperity, quality of life and well-being, and cultural identity. Its management is also of critical importance in addressing global environmental priorities. These include climate change mitigation and adaptation, addressing biodiversity loss, food and energy security, and sustainable water management.

The land use review provides an opportunity to think about how we use land and how to maximise the benefits for the environment, economy and across society. How we use land can best be thought of in terms of a system. In this context, the land use system refers to the relationship between human activities on land, socioeconomic conditions and the natural environment, and also the systems of governance which manage these different interactions. This approach recognises the critical importance of social and economic drivers of land use change. These include demographic changes, social attitudes, traditions and social norms, individual behaviours, land ownership, and competing economic sectors seeking to maximise profit opportunities.

The land use review also provides a timely opportunity to think about the governance of land use. Land-use governance is currently siloed across sectors and sometimes competing policy agendas, leading to fragmented policy responses. This includes agricultural policy, spatial planning, biodiversity action plans, forestry, climate action plans, and policies relating to energy and minerals. There is an opportunity to co-ordinate more effectively to optimise land use across a range of policy objectives, including biodiversity.

Phase 1 of the land use review focused on understanding how we currently use our land. In total, ten reports were published in March 2023, the links to which are provided in my submission. These reports focused on various dimensions of land use, including the impacts of land use change on the environment, the socioeconomic aspects, international practice and financial instruments. The reports also highlight key stakeholders, land ownership issues in Ireland, and a policy catalogue of Government policy with a land use dimension. The overall synthesis report also contained 19 recommendations, primarily related to future data requirements and mapping capability to enhance decision-making and monitoring.

Phase 2 of the land use review commenced in September of this year. It comprises a technical working group, which I chair and a stakeholder group. Both of these groups report to an oversight group, chaired by Ms Geraldine Tallon.

The second phase, following on from the first, will seek to optimise land use across key Government objectives, including socioeconomic, climate, biodiversity, water, and air quality outcomes.

The technical working group is at a very early stage of its work. Our work plan includes four work packages. The first is clarification of environmental and socioeconomic objectives. The second relates to the identification of land use scenarios to achieve environmental and socioeconomic objectives. The third work package moves into setting out potential policy options for consideration and the fourth revolves around implementing the recommendations of phase 1.

Our current work is focused on understanding land commitments across the full range Government policy. This builds on phase 1 which developed a policy catalogue. We are currently collecting data across the full range of Government Departments and related agencies in relation to their land use commitments. This includes land use obligations and discretionary land use commitments and aspirations.

This work will also examine the compatibility or incompatibility of land-use commitments across various Government policies to try to understand the potential for multifunctional land uses or stacked land uses. This work will also be used to inform the initial stakeholder engagement process. Finally, a work plan for 2024 is currently under development.