Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to again have the opportunity to speak on GAEC 2, which was raised in the House earlier. As a reminder, GAEC 2 is a baseline requirement under the CAP regulations for the protection of carbon-rich soils. It is legally required to be put in place for 2025 as part of the conditionality requirements for the basic income support for sustainability, BISS, payment scheme. The proposal my Department has submitted to the European Commission for approval aims to strike a balance between the vital protection of peatlands and wetlands and farmers' rights to continue with agricultural activity on this land.

With regard to the Deputy's question on the inclusion of some mineral soils, conditionality requirements must be controlled at land parcel level. Trying to isolate parts of the parcel where activities can or cannot take place is not practical and would be very difficult to control. If farmers believe their parcels should be split, they can do so as part of making their BISS application.

If a farmer believes that a land parcel has been incorrectly included in the standard, they can appeal to my Department. However, if 50% or more of the parcel is identified in the map it is in scope. To apply a different threshold than 50% for GAEC 2 would either bring in far more mineral soils into the standard or leave too much peat soil outside of the standard. As a result, I am of the view that this percentage strikes the right balance.

On the impact on small farmers, the proposal does not prohibit any of the common practices that are typical on these lands. There is a risk that this might be seen as something we really want to avoid, which is what farmers with carbon-rich peaty soils are feeling. However, the truth is that in the context of grassland, reseeding is still possible as are the maintenance and repair of existing drains. New drains are also allowed, subject to relevant planning legislation. That is already a requirement. I was determined that the proposal that went to the Commission, which was the subject of extensive consultation with all farm organisations, was set down on the basis that day-to-day farming activity on this type of land would not change. This is a baseline conditionality of the BISS. It is not a designation. It is nothing more than just that as part of this CAP strategic plan.

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