Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. As part of the programme for Government, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has committed to conducting a review of the EIA agriculture regulations. I am happy to announce that this review process formally launches today, with the opening of a six-week consultation period seeking views from all stakeholders to inform the review process. The review will involve a full review of the EIA agriculture regulations in their entirety. These EIA regulations apply to three different on-farm activities, including restructuring of rural land holdings, namely, the removal of field boundaries or the recontouring of land, commencing to use uncultivated land or semi-natural areas for intensive agriculture and land drainage works on lands used for agriculture.

To address the other aspects of the Deputy's question, it is important to note that the requirement for screening is already set out in the regulations with SI 456/2011, as amended. At present, all screening applications received are assessed by my officials in accordance with Article 8 of the EIA regulations and all applications undergo ecological assessment and on-site assessment before a final decision is made. This process will continue during the review period.

As I outlined, the public consultation informing the review will be open for a period of six weeks. My Department looks forward to welcoming submissions on all parts of the regulations, including the current thresholds. I encourage Deputy Ó Cathasaigh and all stakeholders to engage in this consultation process to help inform the outcomes of the review. The details of the public consultation are available on the Department's website.

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