Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last Thursday night, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association, INHFA, organised a meeting. The subject was the nature restoration law that the European Commission has published and proposed. This EU nature restoration law proposes to restore at least 20% of the EU land and sea areas by 2030. This will obviously be detrimental to our farmers. Irish farmers are looking for a guarantee that this will not be imposed on them. Much play has been made by the Government about how lands owned by Coillte and formerly by Bord na Móna can be used but we want an assurance that our farmers will not be driven out of existence by this law, which was agreed by all MEPs, including from Ireland.

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