Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to speak at the committee. Mr. Starrett referred to legislation on land use in American and England. I hope he is not talking about whittling down Irish private property rights, which are stronger here than they are in most other countries. I would like him to clarify that.

He touched on the success of the Burren. However, it has been a success following a disaster resulting from the impact of scientists when they said that the cows should be taken off the Burren. Then they listened to the farmers and the people from the local area who told them how to manage it. That is when the Burren became a success. It should be acknowledged that people with many letters after their names contributed to destroying the Burren. I ask Mr. Starrett to clarify those two matters..

Mr. Lumley and I go back a long way. I would like him to correct a few matters for the record. One is that no turf is cut within Glenveagh National Park. I got such a report a few years ago and got another such report this year. I drove three hours to check on this and that activity is taking place outside the national park. I want that clarified because it is unfair to mislead the committee.

Mr. Lumley spoke about the reduction in activity on raised bogs that has taken place over the course of the seven years of reporting. When Mr. Fernandez did his report there was a reduction. However, it should be noted for the record of the committee that it is now acknowledged, and scientists have also come up with this, that we were probably 40% wrong in terms of our active raised bog habitat when we started reporting it first. If we were 40% wrong at the beginning, we could not be right any of the way through reporting on that. That needs clarification.

If one sees a hen harrier in one's field, one had better get rid of it quickly. It is sad for farmers who have grown up with nature whose land has been designated for the protection of the hen harrier as they are not able to plant trees, clean their drains or farm their land and their land is worthless. Those are the facts of having one's land designated for the protection of the hen harrier.

As a result of environmental rules and our failure to clean rivers we have suffered the loss of the corncrake and they have drowned. Mr. Lumley knows Mr. Michael Silke well and has heard everything he has said. What has happened with the corncrake is disgusting. We thought we were smarter but environmental rules have destroyed the corncrake.

There is participation among people around the country to protect the curlew. As Deputies Danny Healy-Rae and Michael Collins pointed out, other species are killing them on the ground. Farmers are willing to co-operate. Mr. Lumley, in his submission, spoke about the Common Agricultural Policy, penalties and the bad way of doing things. A farmer is the protector of rural Ireland. It is not someone, to cite the title of one of Nancy Griffith's songs, "From a Distance" who wants to preach about it. We come from a managed landscape and respect needs to be shown to those farmers.

Mr. Lumley spoke about high natural value areas. The reality, as Deputy Collins pointed out, with respect to burning is that farmers in different parts of the country had to destock their sheep. If fewer sheep are grazing a large area, they will eat one area of vegetation that is sweet and leave the rest. Unfortunately, officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine inspect the land and cut such a farmer's single payment. If 20% of the area is cut, then it is all gone. That is the reality of what is happening in rural parts of Ireland.

Mr. Lumley spoke about the Peatlands Council in terms of raised bogs and compensation. The compensation was in place before the Peatlands Council was formed. No relocation has been done since Mr. Lumley or any other group met the Peatlands Council, and I sat on it for a while. The Turf Cutters and Contractors Association, TCCA, has a representative and the association is working with the national parks. We can be critical of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and I often was, but it is trying to make a genuine effort, along with scientific evidence in this area. I would like Mr. Lumley to state that he will back this up because a resolution can be found to this. Ten years ago, I made the point that out of 3,000 acres, 100 acres may not be of any use for conservation but may be of use to the turf cutting communities.

That is the way forward. I would welcome the views of the witness on that issue.

In regard to the pearl mussel, it has been moved in rivers in order for the river to be cleaned and put back again, ironically, and everything was hunky-dory. People now think there cannot even be the shadow of a bridge near the pearl mussel or it will disappear or die. While the submission of the witness is aspirational, if one was to live in the world of the witness, one would think that everything has disappeared. There is a reference to the natterjack toad, which is a frog, to put it in simple English. It is unbelievable and delusional for anyone to say he or she will do a survey of frogs in this country. I am aware that the witness has not said that. John Gormley was the first person to announce it. I do not understand how frogs would be counted. Rural dwellers have a good idea how well frogs are doing because they are in that environment every day. However, they will not tell anyone because An Taisce is the scourge of rural Ireland because of objections it makes to projects and the way in which it does so. That is a sad thing to have to say. I ask An Taisce to rethink of the way it is going.

As I said to the witness, currently 50% of all water extraction in Ireland for which Irish Water is responsible for is coming out of designated areas where An Taisce has lodged objections for people to have drinking water. A total of 40% of the outflow of sewage would be going in to a designated area. Even if the sewage is 99% treated, that would not be good enough but raw sewage is currently being pumped in places the witness and I know. I ask An Taisce to rethink how it is doing things. It might have an open door in Europe but it will never have an open door or a welcome in rural Ireland unless it works with the people who live and farm in the countryside and respect it every day of the week.