Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2023
768. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the failure to secure a derogation under the new nitrates programme from the EU Commission will result in a reduction in the national herd; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40047/23]
View answerThe European Commission is not obliged to grant any Member State a nitrates derogation and to do so they must be assured that derogation will not compromise achievement of the Nitrates Directive’s objectives of reducing and preventing water pollution caused by agriculture.
Last year Ireland secured a new Nitrates Derogation covering the period 2022-2025. The European Commission attached increased conditionality to Ireland’s Nitrates Derogation, including the requirement to carry out a two-year review of water quality.
The Commission Implementing Decision states that where water quality is poor, or where worsening trends occur over the period 2021-2022, the maximum stocking rate must reduce from 250kg Nitrogen per hectare (N/ha) to 220kg N/ha from January 2024. This is still significantly higher than the normal regulatory limit of 170kg N/ha so it is not the case that Ireland failed to secure the derogation.
In June the Environment Protection Agency published their 2022 report on Nitrogen and Phosphorous concentrations in Irish waters. As required under Ireland’s Nitrates Derogation, that report includes an annex in relation to the two-year water quality review required as a condition of Ireland’s current Nitrates Derogation. It shows that a significant area of the country has failed the Commission's two-year water quality review. In accordance with the Commission Decision, the maximum stocking rate for derogation farmers in these areas must reduce to 220kg N/ha from 2024.
This will impact a significant proportion of Ireland’s ~7,300 derogation farmers to varying extents, however it will not necessarily result in a reduction in the national herd. Impacted farmers will have three options in response to the reduction in the maximum stocking rate - reducing livestock numbers, exporting slurry and/or acquiring more land. Impacted farmers should select one or a combination of these options depending on their own personal circumstances.
Impacted Farmer who have not already done so, should engage with an accredited agricultural advisor to consider their options if they may be impacted by this change.
