Farmers who drained their disadvantaged land should not be punished in the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) review, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has indicated.

Speaking in the Seanad last Wednesday, Minister Creed said he hoped that farmers’ work to improve their land through drainage should not work against them now.

Reservations

Minister Creed was responding to comments by Fianna Fáil senator Paul Daly, who said he had serious reservations about the potential elimination of areas that had a constraint but which no longer have one due to the diligence of the farmer, or other individual, on foot of investing money.

“Owing to the hard work of the farmer, his spending of a lot of money on drainage and his diligence and efficiency, land with a poor drainage history might be transformed and, therefore, be taken out of the relevant category and not included as an area of constraint,” said Daly.

Sweat of their brow

Responding, Minister Creed said: “I acknowledge and agree with the point made about farmers who through the sweat of their brow and commitment over many years improved their land. I personally do not think that such endeavour should work against them now.”

“If one talks about the biophysical criteria, though they may have drained the land, they did not change the soil structure, a fact I hope will be reflected in the outcome,” the Minister said.

Under the ANC review, the new biophysical criteria for designation are low temperature, dryness, excess soil moisture, limited soil drainage, unfavourable texture and stoniness, shallow rooting depth, poor chemical properties and steep slope.

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