Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy should not interrupt me. They are the Green Party's partners in government. What is going on between them is not my business but they must get it sorted. I am not going to take lectures from the Green Party. I am from rural Ireland and from a farming community and have been dealing with farming organisations and farmers across the board. Since the nitrates directive in 1997, I have heard all of the promises that were made to farmers and all of the ambiguities involved. First it was a case of telling them to have as many sheep as possible on the hills. Then they were told to take them all back down, to put them back up, and to take them back down again. Farmers were told to invest in dairy over the years and they have invested hugely in the sector. Now they are being told that the dairy herd will have to be cut, with 200,000 cows to be culled annually.

We want to get this right and we want to work with the Government to get it right but let us have some truth here about how farmers and rural communities have been treated. In its current form, the nature restoration law has too much ambiguity around the impact it would have on family farms. If, as the previous speakers said, farmers do not understand or are getting the wrong message, then it is up to the Government to talk to them. The farming organisations must be front and centre in terms of what the Government is doing. They must be involved in the conversation. In my own area, I am very familiar with the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association, INHFA, which understands the issues. Its president, Mr. Vincent Roddy, and others in that organisation understand what needs to be done and what can be done. Farmers are the custodians of the land and will continue to be that but the Government must have buy-in from farming communities. I am afraid it has lost some of that over the years.

I agree with the Minister about the wonderful biodiversity projects, some of which he would have seen in my own county. Farmers want to do more of that but they also want certainty. They want the Minister to go out to Europe and represent them there. However, the trust is not there so there is no point in saying that it will be okay, it will be all right, "trust us". Farmers want assurances to be written into the laws that are made in order that they can be sure their lands are protected, their families will get planning permission and they will be able to farm their land in the way they do. The Government has a responsibility to make sure that the ambiguity is taken out of it and that it works in true partnership with farmers and rural communities. There are wonderful opportunities in terms of biodiversity in the context of the PEACEPLUS programme and we want to see more of that. We want to see more of the good practice but we want a bit of respect as well in terms of how this is done.

As my colleague, Deputy Kerrane, has said, Sinn Féin will work with the Government on this but the knock-on effects of designating land for rewetting must be looked at. If we contain the rewetting to State-owned lands, that is fine but the lands adjacent to the rewetted areas will be seriously affected by rising water tables on the adjoining lands. If the Government disagrees with me and states that rising water tables will not happen, I need to see that clearly. This will affect the viability of the farmland in the surrounding areas. Not only that but with every new set of designations comes a further burden of compliance on those landholders in close proximity to the rewetted lands. In my own parish, for example, large tracts of land are designated as special areas of conservation, SACs, and special protection areas, SPAs, with specific reference to the corncrake habitat. Their presence here greatly restricts the prospect of getting planning permission. Even those people who are applying on lands that are outside the designated areas are being told by Mayo County Council that if their site is within 1,500 m of the designation, then an environmental report is required. This adds up to €1,000 to the costs for applicants, which has a knock-on effect on farmers. Farmers are not being compensated in the way they need to be compensated. When applying for targeted agriculture modernisation scheme, TAMS, grants for farm sheds, sheep fencing and so on, the designation adds a further layer of red tape for farmers, by way of the environmental impact statement that is required. There must be a just approach to this. We cannot have situations where some can afford to apply but others cannot. It adds a huge additional cost and causes delays to applications, which was not outlined to landowners when the designations were proposed. We want upfront honesty, straightness and guarantees of protection for small family farms and rural Ireland. We will certainly work with the Minister to achieve that.

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