The bill to establish a national fertiliser database has now completed its passage in the Dáil and now moves onto the Seanad.
Following a debate last night (Wednesday, May 31), the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Bill 2023 was received for final consideration and passed in the Dáil.
It now moves on for further scrutiny in the Seanad.
The bill, when passed, will provide the necessary legislative footing for the establishment of the new national fertiliser database.
The new facility, which had been due to come into effect on January 1, will track stocks, purchases and use of fertiliser by farmers.
The bill has been in circulation for sometime and at one stage was expected to pass through the Oireachtas by the end of 2022. However, the legislation process was halted for a time on the advice of the Attorney General.
It is understood that one of the key concerns that prompted a move to involve the Attorney General was potential data protection issues around the establishment of a national fertiliser database.
A delay in the establishment of this database presents an issue for the eco-scheme under Pillar I of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
One of the measures farmers can avail of under the eco-scheme is to limit chemical nitrogen usage.
Under this action, farmers’ application levels of chemical nitrogen are to be checked using the fertiliser database.
The legislation, when passed, will provide for professional fertiliser end users to upload their opening fertiliser stock figures at the beginning of the year and input their closing stock at the end of the year to account for the total fertiliser used during the calendar year.
A professional fertiliser end user is defined as any person who uses fertiliser products in the course of his or her professional activities, which includes farmers.
Any purchases made during the calendar year will be recorded at the point of sale and will feed into the database.
A spokesperson for the department told Agriland: “The Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Bill 2023 is scheduled to complete report stage in the Dáil on May 31 and all stages in the Seanad thereafter.
“The progress of the bill is however subject to the work schedule of the Oireachtas and is beyond the department’s control.
“In the intervening period, the department continues to work with key stakeholders on the rollout of the national fertiliser database for when the bill has been enacted,” the spokesperson added.