Farmers willing to put nature restoration measures in place over the coming years have been promised new funding by Minister of State for Nature, Christopher O’Sullivan, as Ireland gears up to meet the targets laid down in the EU Nature Restoration Law.

Minister O’Sullivan insisted that new nature restoration measures contained in a plan recently submitted to Brussels, will be funded outside of whatever scheme takes over from the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) in the next CAP.

The minister did not detail what payment rates are on the table, nor the overall funding requirements of meeting the State’s obligations under the EU Nature Restoration Law.

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“This has to be worth farmers’ while, but it has to be additional as well,” the junior minister with responsibility for nature told the Irish Farmers Journal at the National Ploughing Championships.

“In other words, a farmer who’s getting money for environmental schemes already, we don’t want to take away them and just replace it. We want this as an additional layer on top, so it will incentivise things even further.

“The other thing to say is that we want to expand the amount of farmers who are availing of these schemes and we’ll only do that if it’s designed correctly.

“We don’t want to replace something that’s already there. We need extra people to get involved in nature restoration.”

Some measures listed in the draft plan have already been witnessed in previous schemes, such as the removal of invasive species and rewetting peaty farmland.

“You’ll see where rhododendron has taken hold along the west coast. What we want to see is farmers funded to help with the eradication of that species – that’s a very non-controversial one.

“We would like to have people take part in restoring peatlands, but again on very much a voluntary basis.

“If they see that it’s worth their while and if they see the payments are worth it, then please take part.”