The direct and indirect impacts of EU policies on land

EU policy had a major impact on agriculture. This applies to the specific environmental directives discussed above - "Habitat Directive" (1992), the "Nitrate Directive" (1991), and the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The initial form of CAP is mainly to support agriculture in the form of price support. Price support promotes increased production and adverse environmental impact (Matthews, 2005), but according to EU standards, Ireland's average land use intensity is relatively low. Due to a series of reforms, the price support side of CAP has been sharply reduced. The main revenue form under the CAP is currently available through a single farm payment. This payment is based on past production value and is separated from the current production amount.

Development has direct and indirect effects. Consumption of goods and services, production of building materials and machinery, use and disposal, additional land use for manufacturing and service activities, mining and refining all affect the environment. The indirect impact of development can be much higher than the direct impact of environmental impact assessment. Proposals such as airports and shipyards can have wide-ranging impacts both domestically and internationally, so it is necessary to cover them with environmental impact assessment.