A local TD says better consultation with farmers about the use of rewetted land is needed to achieve climate action goals.
Michael Fitzmaurice was responding to comments made by Senator Pauline O'Reilly that the climate action bill has solutions that protect the future of agriculture. According to Michael Fitzmaurice, the rewetting of land targets in the land use review will wipe out a lot of agriculture land used in rural Ireland.
However, Senator O'Reilly stated that these farmers sign up voluntarily to these rewetting targets and understand the importance of this directive for habitats.
Speaking on the Joe Finnegan Show, Deputy Fitzmaurice says these rewetting policies are detrimental to land and must be revised.
''These farmers don't know if they're coming or going, they don't know whether they can expand or not. And everything that I've been saying and whether you want to associate it with Trump or whoever, it was Sadhbh O'Neill who stated last night that in the less intensive area in the west and northwest that a re-wetting policy and its not bog its agricultural drained land and if that happens you wont have cattle or sheep walking on it, it'll be a totally different system.''
