A public consultation on Ireland’s draft Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) will close on Monday (September 20).
The consultation process was launched on August 9, by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien.
Ireland’s NAP gives effect to the requirements of the EU’s Nitrates Directive in Ireland and “is a critical piece of legislation that all farmers implement on their farms”, according to a joint statement from the two departments.
The NAP includes maximum fertiliser rates; manure storage requirements; and periods when manures cannot be spread, among other regulations.
An information webinar on the proposed changes was held on September 6.
Criticism of NAP proposals
These proposals have received some significant criticism, particularly from farm organisations.
President of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Tim Cullinan recently accused the government of using the nitrates review as a means of introducing further restrictions on farmers.
“I am deeply troubled by the blatant attempt by the department to use this nitrates review to deliver on other policy objectives,” Cullinan said.
“The objective of the nitrates review is to introduce measures to protect and improve water quality. If there are wider benefits to climate and biodiversity, this is welcome.
“However, the department is now using the nitrates review as a Trojan horse to implement other measures,” the IFA president claimed.
According to the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) president, Pat McCormack, the proposals are “unnecessarily harsh” and seem “aimed at a group of dairy, livestock and tillage farmers”.
While accepting that some aspects of the proposed regulations were “unproblematic and would progress issues”, the ICMSA said that other aspects targeted farmers who “are the backbone of our food exports and rural economy”.
Speaking at an Oireachtas committee this week on the matter, Macra na Feirme president John Keane said that the biggest concern “from our members is that the ability for them to grow their businesses and drive efficiencies on-farm are going to be impinged by some of the proposals outlined”.
“The big thing from our membership’s point of view is that the measures introduced, no matter what they are…that they be complementary to the farming practices and the realities of farming on the ground,” Keane added.
The current regulations expire at the end of 2021 and a new NAP must be published at the beginning of 2022 with the revised regulations to remain in place until 2025.