Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 March 2004
72 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason he is opposed to the concept of NVZs instead of a whole-country approach regarding the nitrates directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9284/04]
View answerThe implementation of the nitrates directive is in the first instance a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. There were extensive discussions and consultations with the main farming organisations and other interests during 2002 regarding the measures to be taken to improve environmental protection regarding agriculture and the approach to be taken for further implementation of the nitrates directive. That dialogue was continued in 2003, and in the context of the national partnership discussions with the farming pillar the Government indicated its preference for the application of an action programme under the nitrates directive regarding all areas.
On 29 May 2003, my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, made regulations which formally identified the whole national territory of Ireland as the area to which an action programme under the nitrates directive would be applied.
The whole-territory approach involves the development and implementation of an action programme applied to the whole territory and will provide statutory support for the application of established standards of good agricultural practice. That approach is considered the best option in the interests of both environmental protection and relevant stakeholders.
The advantages to farmers of a whole-territory approach, as opposed to designation of nitrate-vulnerable zones, include the following. A whole-territory approach would help preserve a clean, environmentally friendly image for Irish agricultural produce and avoid real or perceived labelling of particular areas in an environmental context. A whole-territory approach provides a level playing field, with all farmers subject to the same maximum application rates for livestock manure. A whole-territory approach would simplify the regulatory burden on farmers, whereby it will enable several aspects of environmental protection to be addressed by one set of regulations. The designation of nitrate-vulnerable zones involves the continuing uncertainty for farmers that additional areas might be designated in future years. The designation of nitrate-vulnerable zones would discriminate between individual farmers who are carrying out the same activities in different areas. The designation of nitrate-vulnerable zones may lead to real or perceived competitive variations regarding areas such as farm production costs or agricultural land values.
The adoption of the whole-territory approach was also supported by the necessity to give further effect to several other EU environmental directives, that is, the water framework directive, the framework waste directive and the dangerous substances directive.
Ireland has joined Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in adopting the whole-territory approach for implementation of the nitrates directive. Furthermore, the whole-territory approach in Ireland was supported by a judgment of the European Court of Justice in June 2002 regarding a case involving the European Commission and France, which indicated a need to take action under the nitrates directive regarding eutrophic waters even where eutrophic conditions are due primarily to phosphorus, rather than nitrates, from agriculture.
