The adoption of the Nature Restoration Law (NRL) today (Monday, June 17), just the week after the 2024 European Parliament elections, “smacks of deep and corrosive cynicism”, according to the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA).
The law was adopted by the Council of the EU this morning in a meeting of member states’ environment ministers, meaning the regulation will now become law throughout the EU.
Denis Drennan, the association’s president, claimed that the passage of the law “displays in full the true attitude of some politicians to farming communities and the rural electorates who will be affected”.
“I have not the slightest doubt but that this decision had been deliberately delayed until after the votes had been counted,” Drennan commented.
“It is yet more evidence – if that was even required – that farmers are regarded in some quarters as effectively ‘voting fodder’, to be told what was expedient and necessary to keep them onside.”
He added that farmers would be able see who had supported the Nature Restoration Law, as well as those who, he claimed, had “pretended to be concerned”.
“We now need to be see, as an emergency, how this intrusion is going to be funded out of new, specifically allocated, funding and also an official confirmation that no farmers or private landowners will be compelled or ordered to take actions that the state or an external agency decides upon,” the ICMSA president said.
He added: “Any on-farm actions under the NRL must only be voluntary and at the discretion of the individual farmer.”
‘Immediate engagement’ needed
Meanwhile, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA) has called for “immediate engagement” with farming organisations and rural communities following the passing of the law.
INHFA president Vincent Roddy said: “Through the development of this law we have been told by some of our own MEPs that funding would be secured once the law has been approved. It is vital that our MEPs, especially those that made the promise, go back to Brussels and ensure adequate EU funding for this law.”
Roddy added: “At national level is it our understanding that a good deal of work has already been completed on developing the national plan. At this point it it is critical that all interested parties get to see what is being developed and there must now be meaningful engagement with farming organisations, rural communities and all those that will be impacted by this law.”
“Last Wednesday, Dáil Eireann passed a motion that ensures farmland targeted under the Nature Restoration Law can continue to operate a range of activities that ensures these lands can continue to be defined as an agricultural area under Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) programmes and that such status can be maintained.
“As the state moves to developing a national plan it is vital that the detail included in the Dáil motion is reflected in any national plan,” Roddy said.
‘Serious unease’ over NRL
Expressing similar sentiments, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) said that the adoption of the NRL will “cause serious unease among many Irish farmers”.
“As it stands, we have no clarity around how this law will be implemented in Ireland and what the consequences will be, especially for those on peaty soils. It is yet another example of an initiative being imposed on farmers that is heavy on targets and light on how those targets will be met or how they will be funded,” ICSA president Sean McNamara said.
“Although various ministers have assured us that any schemes introduced under the Nature Restoration Law will be voluntary, we need concrete guidelines on this.
“The reality is we need to see a series of guarantees to reassure farmers that their property rights will be protected; that their right to farm their own lands will be protected; that productive agricultural land will not be commandeered; that food production will not be impacted; that food security will be taken into consideration; and that the livelihoods of farmers will not be jeopardised,” McNamara added.