The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has called for a baseline payment for land designations in a meeting with an Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.

President of the INHFA Vincent Roddy outlined to the Tánaiste how farmers operating on these natura 2000 land designations are seeing their farming activity and income undermined.

The impact this is having on these farmers must be addressed urgently with a baseline payment for the burden of these designations, Roddy said.

Economic benefit

Roddy also highlighted how the natura 2000 network, which comprises special areas of conservation (SAC) and special protection area (SPA) designations, is delivering €2.8bn each year to the Irish economy based on the EU nature fitness check from 2017.

This, he said, works out at €3,000/ha, but farmers are only able access €79/ha through GLAS.

"This is a major issue that must be addressed before any further discussions on new designations, as proposed in the EU Biodiversity strategy," he said.

Roddy argued that the Government needs to deliver the necessary budget to deliver a minimum payment per hectare of at least €150/ha/year.

Public access

In the meeting, the INHFA also highlighted ongoing concerns around public access and the impact this is having on farmers, especially in relation to dog attacks on sheep and insurance concerns in the event of walkers getting injured.

Another issue highlighted by the association was the role of women in Irish agriculture.

In addressing this, INHFA office administrator Connie Walsh said: "According to CSO figures, just 13,000 women are ‘officially’ farming and in receipt of farm payments in Ireland, while 70,000 women work on farms every day.” She added that policy supports in the upcoming CAP must be inclusive.

Commitment

On the proposed CAP plan, Roddy reminded the Tánaiste of the commitment he made in February 2018 to support the overall CAP budget.

In welcoming the increased Pillar II budget of almost €200m/year, Roddy informed the Tánaiste that the new budget will only bring us back to the Pillar II allocation for the 2007-13 CAP period.

This, the INHFA president said, would not be acceptable in any other sector and should not be acceptable to farmers either.

Roddy added that the INHFA is calling for an additional €200m/year to support all sheep and suckler farmers and provide access to the new AECM for all farmers who are willing to engage and deliver for the environment.