Ms Áinle Ní Bhriain:

I thank the Senator for the question. From the very beginning, the Minister has said that this will be voluntary and that nobody will be forced to do anything on their land. The final version of the nature restoration law was signed into law yesterday. It was approved at the European Council last Monday but was physically signed yesterday. As soon as it appears in the Official Journal of the EU in the next few days, that is when the 20-day period starts and our clock starts to have our plan in place in two years. It is interesting that Article 11.4 specifically calls out the following: "The obligation for Member States to meet the rewetting targets ... does not imply an obligation for farmers and private landowners to rewet their land". I scribbled that down before I came in. This will therefore be absolutely voluntary. It is important, however, that we try to incentivise people. The law does not absolve people from taking part. It does not exclude landowners or farmers from taking part in the restoration of peatland and the rewetting of farmland if they so choose to do.

The regulation also includes this statement: "Member States shall, as appropriate, incentivise rewetting to make it an attractive option for farmers and private landowners and foster access to training and advice for farmers and other stakeholders on the benefits of rewetting peatland". That in itself is a whole chunk of work we will have to do, looking at what the best way to restore land is, what we mean by rewetting and how we can devise programmes, measures and actions that are sustainable and in which farmers can positively engage while at the same time continuing to farm the land.

I do not want to get caught up on rewetting because it seems to be the topic du jour whenever we mention the nature restoration law, but the definition of rewetting within the article is a process of moving from a drained peatland towards a wet soil. That in itself gives us, the member state, Ireland, the flexibility to determine for ourselves what we mean by rewetting. It also allows, within the confines of our plan, for it to mean one thing on an actual farm where the land is being used for agricultural purposes, as distinct from what it means in the commercial peat extraction sites, where we can also carry out rewetting to reach target and so on.

There is a great deal of scope to incentivise the process of rewetting. While it is absolutely voluntary, let us make it something that farmers can embrace.

The Senator wanted to know who the other stakeholders were. There were seven discrete ecosystems called out for measures, some of which have targets and others of which just have to show an increasing trend. In addition to the land piece, there is also the marine piece, with significant restoration to be carried out there. There is an urban piece, where there is a requirement to increase the green space and tree canopy cover in our cities and towns. That will require us to engage with city planners and communities. The Deputy mentioned parks in the urban setting. Nature restoration can work hand in hand with that kind of initiative. Forestry is another area where we have to show an increase in the quality of the forest ecosystem. There is also an ambition to plant 3 billion additional trees across the landmass of the Union. The 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers across the Union will impact on fishers, river users, water supply and wastewater. The re-establishment of things like floodplains and all of that has to be factored in as well.

The Senator asked about financing. We have this statutory fund that will come into place in 2026, which will provide funding for capital projects. However, there is also a need for other funding, for current funding. We will need to look at a whole range of models, be it Government or private funding, and what is available within the capacity of what is already there under the nature banner within the EU. All of that has to be brought into the mix and considered. That is another part of the plan we will be working on in the next two years.