INHFA calls on public representatives to reject Nature Restoration Law

The Irish Natura & Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) have called on all public representatives to back farming and our rural communities by voting against the Nature Restoration Law (NRL) when it comes before the Irish and European Parliaments for final ratification.

Speaking on this INHFA President Vincent Roddy detailed how the compromised text agreed in Brussels last week will create major problems for many farmers and the wider rural community.

For the estimated 50,000 farmers impacted we will, he stated “see a major reduction in farming activity and in some instances see the cessation of all farming activity.”

This he added “will impact well beyond the farm gate, undermining the rural economy but critically failing to deliver for nature.”

Staying with the issue of protecting and enhancing our natural environment, the INHFA President outlined how many of our existing habitats are dependent on farming activity and have developed alongside sustainable farming practices.

These practices are, he continued, “best seen on High Nature Value (HNV) farming systems developed and sustained through these extensive low-input farming systems.”

Beyond the possible impact on existing HNV farmlands, the NRL in its current form could, stressed Roddy “see lands subject to the law no longer eligible for CAP payments, especially if this land is deemed to be an ecological ecosystem rather than an agricultural area.”

This he added “is an issue we raised with personnel involved in the final drafting of this law and the fact that our concerns and proposals were ignored is something that is very concerning.”

Moving on from the threat to CAP payments, the INHFA leader also outlined concerns around the funding gaps clearly evident in last weeks’ agreement.

It is, he stressed, “shocking that we are developing a law that will massively impact farmers and their communities and there is no budget to support them.”

“When these designations were first introduced no one imagined that they would impact like they have and this is a lesson we must learn with regard to the NRL.”The Irish Natura & Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) have called on all public representatives to back farming and our rural communities by voting against the Nature Restoration Law (NRL) when it comes before the Irish and European Parliaments for final ratification.

“When these designations were first introduced no one imagined that they would impact like they have and this is a lesson we must learn with regard to the NRL.”