Anglers, walkers and members of the public could be banned from coming on to land in some of the most beautiful places in the country if Dúchas does not agree a proper Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) compensation package with farmers, the president of the IFA, Mr John Dillon, has warned.
Speaking at a protest meeting at Meelick, Co Galway, on the Shannon yesterday, Mr Dillon helped farmers erect signs warning Dúchas inspectors to stay off lands designated as SACs by the Heritage Service.
Nearly 700 farmers who work 20,000 acres of farmland along the Shannon were told recently that their lands would in future be subject to very strict environmental controls as they had been designated as SACs.
"This was done while negotiations were going on and without any warning or consultation with the farmers involved. It is a breach of faith with us, and we have to do something about it," said Mr Dillon.
"The first step is that we are banning any Dúchas inspectors or personnel coming on to the disputed lands, and if that does not work we will have to consider extending that to other people as well," he said.
Mr Dillon said that if farmers were not properly compensated for the restrictions being placed on their livelihoods, fishermen, walkers and other members of the public could be banned from using the areas.
"We cannot stand by and see land being devalued by these orders, made without consultation, which impose such tight environmental controls that they will cost farmers thousands of euro," he said.
"I will not stand by and see rural Ireland turned into a museum,because even Dúchas must know that the land has to be farmed to protect the environment."
He said the designation of lands as SACs immediately led to farming and development restriction, resulting in income and property-value losses.
The compensation paid to date related only to income losses from farming, and this, in many cases, had proved inadequate.
Until that issue was addressed there would be no co-operation with Dúchas.
Farmers, he said, wanted new notification procedures including the requirement from Dúchas to present scientific evidence before designation and arbitration to determine compensation where developments were turned down because of the SAC designation.
One of the farmers, Mr Charlie Killeen, from Meelick, said the recent designation of his land would mean that he could not put his sheep out until June of each year, which would make it impossible to work his land properly.
"I have also been told I cannot dose the sheep or spray the lands to get rid of the rushes and, of course, there can be no building development of any kind," he said.
"I love wildlife as much as any person and will protect it, but I don't want to be put out of business over it. I need a decent level of compensation for the restrictions that have been placed on my activities," he said.
Other farmers said they agreed with him, and it was significant that wildlife had not flourished on lands purchased by conservation bodies along the Shannon because it was not being farmed.
They said some of them had been involved in environmental schemes before, such as the corncrake scheme, and many of their farms were in National Heritage Areas, but the SAC restrictions would make their lands unfarmable. Mr Gerry Gunning, of the IFA, said environmental restrictions had been placed on one million acres of Irish land, mainly raised bogs and mountains and, in all, 15,000 farmers were working under some kind of restrictions.
Mr Dillon said yesterday's demonstration was only the first, and farmers in other areas would join the non-co-operation protest.