The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, had been “disconcerted around complacency” in relation to the nitrates derogation from agri-sector stakeholders, he has disclosed.
This, according to the minister, was one of the motives in forming the Agriculture Water Quality Working Group, which held its first meeting in June.
The minister shared these remarks at the Agricultural Science Association (ASA) Conference in Naas, Co. Kildare today.
“I had been disconcerted by what I was finding as complacency in the wider agricultural community around the derogation.”
He had confirmed yesterday (Wednesday, September 6) that that the European Commission had ruled out making any changes to Ireland’s derogation.
This means that, following the publication of a water quality report this summer, the derogation will drop from 250kg nitrogen (N) per hectare to 220kgN/ha in some areas from January 1, 2024.
This decision from the commission has been greeted with an over-whelming negative response from farm organisations.
But the minister has defended the communication between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and farmers on the regulations attached to the the latest renewal of the derogation, which was agreed with the commission in early 2022.
The minister and department had been criticised for failing to properly communicate the ramifications of failing to meet the requisite water quality standards for retaining a full 250kgN/ha all over the country.
However, the minister said: “The derogation was published, a public document there for all to see. It was a hard negotiation because we didn’t secure the derogation until March 2022.
“The previous one expired in December 2021, so we had three months without a derogation and there was a lot of uncertainty there if we would have a derogation, and it took up until March 2022 to actually get it.”
Earlier today Minister McConalogue had invited representatives from farm organisations to a meeting at DAFM head office in Dublin where he could “discuss both issues and listen to farmer concerns”.
The Irish Farmers’ Association picketed the meeting and a number of other farm organisations then also decided not to attend it including Macra, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) and the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA).
This meant that the minister only met in person with the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) to the discuss the derogation.
Commenting on the meeting, the minister said: “I wanted to meet and give every organisation the opportunity to meet with me today and I will continue to engage.
I have no control over whether farm organisations take up the opportunity, but I will continue to be available and work collaboratively.”
The minister also highlighted the importance of collective effort to retain a derogation when the next review by the commission occurs in 2025.
“The derogation is up for full negotiation again and there is no guarantee we will continue to have a derogation, so we all collectively have to work together.
“I’ll continue to work together now with farm organisations and the Agriculture Water Quality Working Group to assess how we can support farmers in relation to the new situation,” Minister McConalogue added.