ABOUT 20,000 farmers face substantial income losses as a result of new environmental rules designed to preserve important habitats, according to the IFA.
The organisation's deputy president, Mr Michael Slattery, has called on the Government to open "meaningful consultations" on the issue. "The Government must develop a partnership approach with farmers in conservation areas, so important landscapes are protected and farming can remain viable."
About 7 per cent of the land area of the State will be designated Natural Heritage Areas (NHA), under new rules which are being finalised at present. They will replace areas designated under previous rules which were found to be unconstitutional in the High Court.
An estimated 1,200 NHAs will cover a wide range of habitats, including uplands, wetlands, estuaries, bogs, rivers and lakeshores. Areas considered of particular importance will be given further protection under the EU Habitats Directive and designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC). About two thirds of NHAs will also be designated as SACs.
Mr Slattery told a conference in Galway yesterday that the SACs would "put severe restrictions on farmers and limit their ability to earn a living from their holdings, as well as devalue their property".
He said appeals by farmers against the designations should be allowed on economic grounds, as well as scientific grounds, the only criteria being considered by the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht at present.
A proper income support scheme should be put in place which would take account of the actual income losses suffered by farmers, he said.
The director of the Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service, Mr Michael Canny, said the new areas were being introduced following widespread consultation with farmers and other groups. Compensation issues were being finalised in negotiation with the IFA.
Where a farmer planned a particular development in a NHA, the service would only object when it thought the development would have a seriously detrimental impact on the environment.
The designation of a parcel of land as a NHA did not mean all development was prohibited there. If a farmer insisted in going ahead, the service would not be able to stop him from damaging the environment.