Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2020
368. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans on providing farmers an exemption in view of the current restrictions and the difficulty farmers have selling and slaughtering stock which will exceed the 170kg per hectare of organic nitrogen; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34528/20]
View answerThe Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters Regulations, SI 605 of 2017, as amended, provide for controls on the application to land of nutrients from agricultural sources to ensure the protection of water quality in any adjacent surface water or groundwater bodies.
The Regulations do not provide for discretionary exemptions from these controls. The recent announcement of the move to Level 5 of the Government’s Plan for Living with COVID-19 have provided challenges for every sector of society. I understand that under the current level of restrictions, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has established suitable adaptive arrangements for the sale and slaughter of cattle that do not compromise health protection measures. These arrangements are similar to those in place during the previous high level restrictions, imposed earlier in the year.
If insurmountable difficulties arise in the sale or slaughter of livestock, individual farmers can achieve compliance with the requirements of the regulations through other means, including the export of slurry from the farm holding for use elsewhere.
For further guidance on compliance with these regulations, farmers should contact their farm advisory service in the first instance.
