Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has been accused of hiding “behind a committee” on the issue of a Nitrates Derogation and nitrates legislation.
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has said that Minister McConalogue cannot be allowed to “hide behind a committee” to delay the necessity of going back to the European Commission and getting the 220kg organic nitrogen per hectare requirement dropped.
A recent water quality report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identified areas that could see the derogation fall from 250kg nitrogen (N)/ha per year to 220kg N/ha per year from January 1, 2024.
Nitrates
ICMSA president Pat McCormack said there was a “clear onus” on the minister to accept the political and administrative responsibility that went with his position, and to show that he is serious about dealing with the issue.
“This issue is far too serious and there’s no time for this buck-passing and wriggling around,” he said.
“The minister and his department created this potential timebomb for family farms and it is up to them to resolve it and remove a requirement that is not backed up by science.
“In 2022, the minister and his officials agreed to a measure that will wipe out the Irish family dairy farm system as it exists. To compound that mistake, the measure will have little or no impact on water quality – which was the reason cited for the policy in the first place.”
The ICMSA said it has has been raising the matter with the minister and his officials for over a year and at the most recent Agriculture Water Quality Group, the department still could not provide details of its interactions with the European Commission.
“This is ridiculous and farmers should have a right to know what discussions have taken place with the EU Commission and that the department is treating this matter with the seriousness that it deserves,” McCormack continued.
“We are either going with the science on this or we are not. The 220kg requirement should be dropped given that it is not backed up by science.
“The debate in relation to one map or the other is almost a diversionary tactic. The real issue is that the 220kg proposal will be disastrous for a family farm above this level whether in Wexford or Donegal and it needs to be removed,” he added.
The organisation said that if the government is serious about supporting farmers in their efforts to improve water quality, realistic support needs to be put in place.
“The recently announced water quality EIP, while welcome, will only deliver about €800 per year per farmer and, in this day and age, this is a derisory level of support,” McCormack continued.
“Following recent ICMSA meetings with DG Agricuture and DG Environment of the EU Commission, the very clear message was that it was up to the member states to support their farmers in their efforts and, as of now, the Irish Government is absolutely ‘missing-in-action’ in this respect.”
McCormack said that the Irish Government must tell the commission that the 220kg requirement is “unsound” and will not be implemented.