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Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Tim Lombard: We have received apologies from the Cathaoirleach, Deputy Jackie Cahill. I will be chairing the proceedings today. I remind all witnesses to turn off their mobile phones. The purpose of today's meeting is to undertake an examination of proposal COM (2022) 304, a regulation from the European Parliament and Council on nature restoration. The committee will hear from Dr. Humberto Delgado...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Dr. Humberto Delgado Rosa: I thank the Vice Chairman. I am very honoured to address the committee. Members may notice that I have picked my best green tie in honour of the great Irish nation and also because it is appropriate for nature. I am director for biodiversity in the Directorate-General for Environment of the European Commission and so I hold responsibility for the proposal of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Sitting suspended at 4.56 p.m. and resumed at 5.01 p.m.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Paul Daly: I thank the Vice Chairman. As I do not know how much the director heard of what I said earlier, I will start again. My comments were based on the fact that Ireland is unique in respect of the amount of drained peatland we have in agricultural use compared with other areas. In my father’s time, the grant aid from the EU actually was to drain this land and consequently much of this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Dr. Humberto Delgado Rosa: I will reply to the questions as well as I can and I will start by discussing peatland where in the sense that Ireland certainly has much peatland, including in agricultural use. It is not really a single case in that other member states, such as the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Poland and others also have quite a proportion. I will discuss here what this means...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Dr. Humberto Delgado Rosa: It is my perception that the amount of agricultural area in drained peatland in Ireland is just a proportion, and I believe not enormous, of the agricultural land in Ireland overall. If I am not wrong, therefore, even if rewetting would imply some reduction of production, and this is not necessarily abandoning production of all kinds, but even in that context, the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I thank Dr. Delgado Rosa. He spoke about favourable status and looking at favourable status and targets. I worked with scientists when we were involved in the rewetting of peatlands. You could do all the things in rewetting but for one reason or another, I have seen peatlands and boglands in Ireland such as Raheenmore, for example, which is designated, that have never been able to reach...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The European Commission is the one that is bringing in this EU nature regulation. It is fine to talk about all the member states, but if it is agreed at European level then it is in to every country and the onus is on every country and we have to report back to the EU. Is that correct or not?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Dr. Humberto Delgado Rosa: There is nothing new from the duties that derive from the habitats directive. Here I am discussing non-protected habitats. There is nothing in the regulations that encroaches on private property rights. It is a decision of the member states in the nature restoration plans that must be done in full consultation with stakeholders. Let me address the farmers....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: I thank the Vice Chair and I thank Dr. Delgado Rosa for joining us remotely. In response to previous questions the witness mentioned that the application of this regulation will fall to the member state. Deputy Matt Carthy: I thank the Chair and Dr. Delgado Rosa for joining us remotely. The witness mentioned in response to previous questions that the application of this regulation will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Dr. Humberto Delgado Rosa: The regulation proposal is not at all a one-size-fits-all proposal. It is rather the contrary. The regulation proposal brings in the types of habitats to be considered in a certain timescale but after that, the size is to be defined by the member state. The member state knows better how, where and what to restore. Why did we bring forward the regulation? Why...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: I wish to move on and elaborate on that point. I am a former Member of the European Parliament. One of the difficulties we have here is that every so often, when a regulation is applied and local communities are annoyed, upset or frustrated by its application, our Government will tell them there is nothing it can do because this is an EU regulation. What it does not acknowledge is having...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Dr. Humberto Delgado Rosa: I refer to the cost-benefit analysis. I do not have figures on a member-state-by-member-state basis for all of the 27 member states. I am not aware at this stage of the precise figures for Ireland, if they exist. There probably are some elements with regard to amount of land such as peatland, etc., but I do not have them at this stage. We can provide them...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: In many respects, we are talking about farms that are very extensive at present. They are very small numbers per hectare of either cattle or sheep. Does Dr. Delgado Rosa envisage that some of these drained farm peatlands could be restored and that cattle or sheep would continue to be on those farms?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Dr. Humberto Delgado Rosa: Before addressing the issue of the specific CAP plan I want to mention that there are at least a couple of Irish LIFE-funded projects that are rather successful. These include rewetting peatland, including 10,000 ha of peatland in the Irish midlands where production is maintained. When I say I do not know, I mean I do not know the exact situation of each farm or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: I have approximately two minutes remaining and I have several specific questions. I ask the committee secretariat to furnish Dr. Delgado Rosa with the responses we received from the Minister and Department in respect of the GAEC regulations and the impact they would have on restoration. Their interpretation of what the parameters will mean sound very different from what Dr. Delgado Rosa has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: I am out of time and I have one more question. I will say this with regard to this point. Rather than this being an evolution of CAP I would compare it to a situation whereby a local authority provided a business with a grant to build an extension and a number of years later issued it with an order to demolish that very same extension. I have a question on policy. From whatever position...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: ...as we can. Dr. Delgado Rosa talked about productivity in different areas. We talk about a thing called community. The European Commission might not know much about it. We also talk about private property rights in Ireland. On productivity, what would Dr. Delgado Rosa say to farmers in this regard? He should bear in mind that Ireland has approximately 95% of its peatlands in its north...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: Considering the principle of subsidiarity, which is one of the principles of the EU, rather than trying to adopt a one-size-fits-all regulation to be applied across 27 member states, why would the Commission not encourage member states to apply a domestic law that takes into account the unique circumstances of each state at that level?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulation on Nature Restoration: European Commission (18 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: Unfortunately, my own experience is that, in many respects, it is only when this arrives at somebody's door or farm gate that he or she realises its implication. Mr. Delgado Rosa can correct me if I am wrong on the figures but the draft regulation states that 70% of each member state's drained, farmed peatlands must be restored by 2050, with half of this area to be placed specifically under...