The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the lead authority responsible for the interim review of Ireland's 5th Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) and the associated Regulations. My Department is working closely with them in this regard.
As part of the European Commission’s Implementing Decision granting Ireland its current Nitrates Derogation, additional conditionality was included by the Commission requiring a two-year review of water quality.
Under that review water quality data for 2021 and 2022 must be compared, and where the review identifies polluted waters or where worsening trends have occurred over this period, the maximum stocking rate limit permitted under the Nitrates Derogation must reduce from 250kg to 220kg livestock manure nitrogen per hectare from 2024 onwards. The EPA is currently working to provide the water quality data that will be used in this review.
As part of the 5th NAP the scope of some existing measures was broadened, other measures were expanded and a number of new measures were introduced to drive improvements in water quality.
In addition to working on the interim review, my officials are preparing a case to engage further with the European Commission with the objective of seeking flexibility from them on the two-year water quality review with a view to giving existing measures more time to demonstrate their impact. However, there is no guarantee that there will be a change to the Commission's Implementing Decision as it stands.
