In accordance with the Nitrates Directive, Ireland’s Nitrates Action Programme is due for review this year. Negotiations with the European Commission with a view to having a revised Nitrates Action Programme in place by the end of 2017 have commenced.
As part of the review, a full public consultation process was initiated and closed on 28 April 2017. All submissions received on foot of this consultation are being given full consideration by an expert group comprising officials from my Department, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Teagasc and the Environmental Protection Agency.
It would be inappropriate to anticipate any outcomes of the review process in advance of its conclusion.