THE Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht will face a situation similar to the rod licence war if farmers are not consulted on the designation of environmentally sensitive areas, an Oireachtas Committee meeting was told yesterday.
Senator Frank Fahey told a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Legislation that the imposition of the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1996, without consultation would lead to bad feeling.
"There was a meeting of 300 farmers from Connemara in Maam Cross last Monday and they were extremely upset about the imposition of regulations on them without consultation," he said.
"Farmers in Connemara have looked after the environment for hundreds of years and they feel a bit sore now that they are having their lands designated without consultation.
"You will remember the row there was when we tried to introduce a rod licence a few years ago. Tempers are running as high out there now as they were about that issue."
Mr Fahey urged the Department not to ratify the EU regulations until agreement was reached with the individual farmers, and to seek a derogation until that was achieved.
But the chairman of the committee, Mr Noel Davern TD, told him that the regulations should have been signed four years ago and the Department was now open to being sued for not implementing European law.
Mr Michael Canney, director, National Parks and Wildlife Service, told the committee that a programme of information will be launched when the order is signed in February.
He said that agreement had been reached with the farm organisations, the Department of Agriculture, Teagasc, An Taisce and private planners on many of the designations.
He said that two thirds of the area involved in the designations was blanket bog and the Burren on which there was already agreement, and there were around 6,000 landowners involved.
Mr Canney said each farmer would be consulted and when an order was made designating a Special Area of Conservation, this could be appealed with the Wildlife Service and if that did not work, to an independent appeals panel.
He said there could also be appeals brought against such things as the stocking rate on land or other restrictions.
He added that while he did not want to reveal too much, compensation levels which would be paid to farmers would be akin to the levels paid under the Rural Environment Protection Scheme.