Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A fear we have is when there are multiple Departments involved in a legislative proposal. We had the water framework directive, which started in 1991 and was led by the Department of Housing. It had a huge impact on the agriculture industry through the nitrates action plan. There is, therefore, a fear for committees like ours and the communities we represent about having multiple Departments involved and whether there will be conflict within the Department about getting the right result for the agriculture committee. One of the lines in the opening statement was "The proposal does not impose direct obligations on landowners and land managers ...". Will the officials explain that statement to me and how we are going to ensure this directive will not impinge on landowners or land managers and their land rights?