Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 July 2004
88 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the process whereby a person can apply for a derogation under the proposed nitrates action programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20271/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe implementation of the nitrates directive is, in the first instance, a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. He and I met the farming organisations on 30 June and again outlined the approach to be taken in implementing the directive. An action programme will be submitted to the European Commission meeting Ireland's legal obligations under the directive and there will be proposals for arrangements under which farmers may operate above the general limit of 170 kg of organic nitrogen which the directive lays down.
A revised draft action programme is now being made available for farmers and other interested parties to offer their views. This document, like the earlier version published in December 2003, includes an outline of the proposed conditions under which farmers may obtain derogations from the limit of 170 kg. It will of course be open to the stakeholders to give their views on these conditions during the consultation process.
The conditions for derogations, like all other aspects of Ireland's plans to implement the directive, will ultimately require the approval of the European Commission. However, it is my objective, shared by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to minimise the burden of compliance on farmers generally and to ensure that the future of the commercial agriculture sector is safeguarded.
While I recognise that this is, in the first instance, the responsibility of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, proposals were expected to be published by the end of June, prior to the second draft action programme being completed by the end of July. Will the Minister indicate when the proposals will be published? Evidence produced by Teagasc clearly indicates that a case can be made for 250 kg of organic nitrogen per hectare. We should return to the Commission to consider whether a 170 kg approach to the whole country is essential. Perhaps there is room for manoeuvre based on scientific evidence with which we could go for a 210 kg approach.
How will individual derogations be applied for? Will individual farmers have to prepare a plan and make an application for a derogation? Assuming a whole country approach and that Ireland achieves certain derogations, where will the single farm payment stand next January in view of the fact that our action programme may not be accepted with the derogations included? My understanding is that nothing will be accepted from Ireland until everything is accepted.
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and I, our senior officials and representatives of Teagasc met the stakeholders last week. It was a positive and constructive meeting at which the Government side put forward its position. This is that, legally, because of European Court rulings, we must address the directive, which lays down a general limit of 170 kg. However, parallel to submitting an action plan to address the directive, we will submit a case for a derogation to have limits up to 250 kg of organic nitrogen per hectare. Teagasc, as the chief scientific advisory body to the Government, has been extremely helpful in putting together documentation and a comprehensive case. I believe we will be successful in this matter. We need to be because approximately 10,000 of our most intensive and commercial farmers would be considerably impeded if we did not get a derogation of up to 250 kg.
With regard to the sequence and timescale, publication of the current draft should be with the farming organisations and stakeholders within the next day or so, perhaps later this evening. They will consider it and give their views. An independent adviser, Mr. Denis Brosnan, will help to facilitate consensus so that we can then submit that action plan to Brussels, hopefully, by the end of this month. Parallel to this, we will seek a derogation. We will have considerably more time to make the case for a derogation — I would expect six or seven months. The Commission has told us that once we are serious about addressing this directive, which has been in place since 1991, it will deal sympathetically with us. I do not envisage any penalty or fines in regard to the implementation of the single farm payment from 1 January next.
Will the Minister indicate how the derogation will be applied for? Must individual farmers make applications?
That is subject to negotiations. We have a good track record in negotiations and generally good relations with the Commission. As with decoupling and the farm payment on which we were able to fine tune the regulations and schemes to suit Irish conditions, we can do the same in this regard. It has been intimated to us that the Commission will work with us to get a workable solution to the matter with minimal encumbrances and minimal red tape and bureaucracy. It should be noted that the directive applies not only to organic nitrogen per hectare but also to a range of matters such as the times for the spreading of nitrogen and storage capacity. All such matters will be subject to negotiations and I believe we will achieve a deal which will suit Ireland and Irish commercial farmers in the long run.
