Rural Independents have said that the “highly controversial” Nature Restoration Law passed in the European Parliament, “imposes stringent and unrealistic targets for Ireland” and “disregards negative impact on food security”.
“Despite strong opposition to the flawed Nature Restoration Law and its rejection by three parliamentary committees, MEPs have voted in favour of advancing the new law, disregarding its negative impact on food security and farmers’ incomes and futures, Cork South West TD, Michael Collins, said.
His Rural Independent Group of TDs strongly criticizes the vote this week which they say equires Ireland to legally rewet tens of thousands of hectares of land as part of the EU’s blueprint Green Deal.
In response to the narrow adoption of what he called “the highly controversial” Nature Restoration Law, Deputy Michael Collins said:
“We are extremely disappointed with the outcome of this vote. This law imposes stringent and unrealistic targets for Ireland, demanding the rewetting of at least 24,968 hectares by 2030, followed by 66,580 hectares by 2040, and a staggering 83,225 hectares by 2050.
To put this into perspective, these targets would cover an area nearly the combined size of Dublin, Limerick, Galway, and Waterford cities by 2030. By 2050, an area equivalent to the entire agricultural lands of County Leitrim would be affected.”
“How can Irish MEPs, including all Fine Gael and Fianna Fail MEPs, who expressed concerns about this law, vote in favour of it today in Strasbourg? While some may argue that the original text has been weakened by amendments, the fact remains that the current text is still excessively rigid, and once approved, the proposal will be legally binding on all member states, including Ireland. This legislation undermines Irish agriculture and will have a detrimental impact on farmers’ ability to earn a living, despite the government’s spin as one of the main supporters of this destructive law.”
“Despite Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and the Green Party already endorsing this law at the EU Council level, a move that can only be described as an extremely unfair and calculated attack on rural communities, I strongly oppose its implementation.”
“The reality is that too much land in Ireland will now be reserved for nature restoration (rewetting), at the expense of food production, housing, transport, and even energy transition. In Ireland, we believe this proposal could severely hinder economic growth and contribute to a shortage of available housing and potential food security problems,” concluded Deputy Collins