EU Facing Calls From Cork MEP To Relax Approach To Rewetting Land

The EU is facing calls from an Cork MEP to relax its approach to rewetting land.

The European Parliament’s proposed Nature Restoration Law is aimed at introducing measures to protect biodiversity.

Its current proposal would see 30 per cent of Ireland’s drained agricultural peatland restored by 2030, of which at least a quarter must be rewetted.

But MEP for Ireland South, Billy Kelleher thinks that’s too extreme:

“We have Bord na Móna and Coillte land, but if we had to comply with the original targets as laid out by the European Parliament, then we wouldn’t have sufficient public ownership land, and we would have to look at private land. So we’ve been trying to encourage the Parliament to soften its proposals and its position and come more in line with the Irish government’s proposals to the Council. So that’s where we’re at at the moment”.