Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 September 2024
90. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the recent visit of the European Commission in relation to the nitrates derogation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38184/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn May of this year, picking up on a commitment made during Commissioner Sinkevicius’ visit to Ireland in November 2023, I invited DG Environment’s Commission Services to visit Ireland to witness at first hand the actions the Government and stakeholders right across our agri-food industry are currently engaging in to reduce agriculture’s impact on water quality.
Last week in response to that invitation, a visit took place between Monday the 16th and Wednesday the 18th of September.
During this time, in addition to meeting with me, Minister of State Hackett, and Minister of State Heydon, the Commission officials also visited several farms, met government departments, state agencies, industry representatives and farming organisation representatives as well as attending a meeting of the Agriculture Water Quality Working Group.
Overall, this visit allowed the Commission officials to see first hand Ireland's unique grass-based livestock production system as well as the collaborative effort and the work that is currently taking place across the agri-food sector to understand and address agricultural pressures on water quality which was my key objective in seeking this visit.
In addition to considering recent regulatory changes, the Commission officials were also presented with work of the Environment Protection Agency, Teagasc's Agricultural Catchments Programme, the Local Authority Waters Programme, the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme or ASSAP, the 'Farming for Water' European Innovation Partnership, Teagasc's "Better Farming for Water" advisory campaign as well as an industry led programme to improve water quality in a specific catchment.
The Commission officials expressed positive feedback on the visit overall and stated they were impressed with the level of collaboration across the sector with the common objective of improving water quality. However, they were also clear that water quality data will be key in informing the Commission's approach regarding Ireland's application for a further Nitrates Derogation.
We now have strong momentum seeking to improve water quality across Ireland's agri-food sector and we need to maintain and build on this to ensure we deliver water quality improvements.
