Over 6,500 nitrates derogation applications have been received by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) ahead of the deadline at midnight tonight (Friday, April 26), the DAFM has confirmed.
The deadline for applications for the nitrates derogation 2024 has previously been extended by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue due to challenging weather conditions.
The DAFM reminded those who applied for a nitrates derogation last year that 2023 fertiliser accounts must also be uploaded by today, regardless of whether an application for the derogation is being made this year.
Nitrates derogation 2024
Before completing the online application, farmers are asked to familiarise themselves with the terms and conditions of the 2024 nitrates derogation which can be found on the DAFM website under “Rural Environment and Sustainability – Nitrates”.
Failure to comply with these terms and conditions or any of the provisions in the Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Waters Regulations (as amended) will result in the rejection of the derogation.
If an applicant exceeds their applicable whole farm organic nitrogen (N) limit under the derogation, this will result in rejection of their derogation. If a holding is rejected, the 170kg N/ha limit will be applicable and the herdowner may incur a penalty.
Holdings rejected from the nitrates derogation will not be eligible for a derogation the following year. Therefore, where an applicant has been informed that they are rejected for 2023, they are not eligible for a derogation in 2024.
Direct payment conditionality breaches, including exceeding the applicable whole farm N limit, will be subject to the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Scheme penalty schedule. All derogation applicants must also apply for the 2024 BISS scheme.
Requests to withdraw a 2024 derogation application will be accommodated up to December 31, 2024, unless the herdowner has been notified of an inspection, according to the DAFM.
Minister McConalogue
Minister McConalogue recently reiterated that removing the derogation in and of itself will not solve Ireland’s water quality challenges, and that the government will seek another derogation post-2025.
In 2022, the government published Ireland’s 5th Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) and secured the current nitrates derogation which runs until the end of 2025.
There has not been a specific assessment of the impact of removing the derogation on water quality, however, the conditionality attached to Ireland’s derogation is designed to manage the risks to water quality associated with higher stocking rates, the minister said.
He said that the Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Waters Regulations apply to all farmers, not just derogation farmers, and stressed that all farmers have an obligation to comply with the regulations to protect and improve water quality.
“Farmers who wish to avail of the nitrates derogation are obliged to undertake environmental training and to abide by additional rules over and above that required of other farmers.
“They are also subject to a higher level of inspection as required under the [European] Commission implementing decision granting Ireland’s nitrates derogation,” Minister McConalogue said.