Dairy farmer Willie Hanrahan from Doonbeg, Co Clare, told the meeting that he does not believe Department of Agriculture officials when they say that GAEC 2 is not a land designation.

“It started off in the 1990s as Natural Heritage Area (NHA) and we worked with the national parks. They said there would be no more restrictions,” he said.

“Then all of a sudden we got a letter in the post that we were now an SAC [Special Area of Conservation] and this, that and the other.

“The postman came today with a letter and I’m GAEC 2 now. A further 15% of my farm is under GAEC 2.

“I’ll be quite honest with ye lads, I don’t believe ye when you say it’s not a designation. It is a designation. It’s just a different name.

“Can’t plough, can’t open a new drain. I’m just saying I don’t believe ye, sorry.”

In response, Michael Maloney of the Department of Agriculture said that GAEC 2 puts no restrictions on Hanrahan whatsoever.

“Your land is drained already, there’s nothing stopping you maintaining those drains,” he said.

Maloney said that anyone ploughing greater than 12 inches is either “out looking for something else or wanting to burn diesel”.

He also told the meeting that an appeals mechanism for farmers who believe their land should not be classified as GAEC 2 will be set up “in due course”.

Maloney said that if farmers start to appeal their GAEC 2 land “just because they don’t like it” then the Department will request soil samples from these farmers. He added that his officials would prioritise farmers who have never drained land.