Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

120 Chapter 5: Land 3. Land use Land use describes how humans make use of land and includes activities such as residential use, agriculture, commercial forestry and infrastructural uses such as transport or utilities. In March 2023, the government published the outputs of phase 1 of the National Land Use Review, which was led by the EPA (DAFM and DECC, 2023a). The purpose of the review was to examine the environmental, socio- economic and ecological characteristics of Ireland’s land use. Phase 1 of the review examined four broad areas (Figure 5.5) and made 19 recommendations. Figure 5.5  The four themes of phase 1 of the Land Use Review PEOPLE INDICATORS POLICY POSSIBILITIES LAND USE REVIEW Source: DAFM and DECC, 2023a Phase 2 of the Land Use Review is being led by three departments: the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Phase 2 will identify the key demands on land (both public and private) to inform policies for land use across key government objectives. The work will note that the remaining years of this decade are critical to address the climate and biodiversity emergencies (declared by Dáil Éireann in 2019), recognising that farmers and farm families play a very significant role as custodians of Ireland’s environment. The review will also recognise that any measures made available to farmers will be voluntary and done in partnership with government. This phase of the review will inform the preparation of future climate action plans, in particular actions to achieve reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) for the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector. Phase 2 of the Land Use Review has two working groups: 1. A technical working group to advance the land evidence recommendations from the first phase, to identify land use scenarios to achieve environmental and socio-economic objectives and to set out potential policy options. 2. A citizen engagement working group to communicate, inform, engage and motivate all stakeholders on the agreed national priorities that constitute a shared vision for the necessary transition in land use. Both working groups report to an oversight group, which in turn reports to the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform. Land use and people Ireland has a population of 5.3 million (CSO, 2023). The economic activities, residential needs and transport activities of the population influence Ireland’s land use profile. As outlined above, at least 60% of Ireland’s land cover is agricultural (grassland or cultivated land) reflecting the importance of agriculture to Ireland’s economic and social profile. The National Land Cover Map (Table 5.1) shows that artificial surfaces (roads, residential development and commercial development) make up 3.8% of Ireland’s land cover. Around 25% of all housing in Ireland tends to be in the form of single houses in the open countryside, developed on agricultural land. This can present challenges for service provision (e.g. delivery of public transport or active travel solutions for rural populations and provision of water and sanitary services). Under Project Ireland 2040, the National Planning Framework (NPF) projects a population of approximately 5.8 million by 2040 and the Central Statistics Office (CSO) projects a population of up to 6.7 million by 2051. A growing population will influence demands for competing uses of land to support, variously, food production, and the development of new housing, services, infrastructure and amenity uses. Housing is currently in critical demand. More recently, the NPF committed to securing 50% of new housing through developments within the general boundaries of existing built-up areas and through brownfield development.