John Kelly (Labour)

I have a number of questions about the land reclamation amendment to the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which will come before the House. Can the Minister outline the area of land above which an application for consent must be made if a farmer wants to restructure his holding, carry out land drainage or remove field boundaries? Can he give a commitment that the new legislation will not add further compliance costs and bureaucracy to agriculture?

Can the Minister explain how further growth and expansion of the sector, as set out in Food Harvest 2020, can be encouraged if measures in the proposed legislation will encourage farmers not to carry out on-farm improvements? Can he explain his understanding of wetlands, as defined in the proposed Planning and Development (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2011 and outline how his proposed regulation will impact on farmers? Will farmers who want to cut turf on their own bogs find themselves in the ridiculous situation, if the proposed planning and development regulations are introduced, of having to apply to their local authority for planning permission and submit an environmental impact report, which may cost outrageous amounts of money?