An information webinar on proposed changes to rules under the Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) will be held tonight (Monday, September 6).
The webinar will begin at 7:00p.m and is set to conclude at 9:00p.m.
It is being co-hosted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
We are hosting an information webinar with @DeptHousingIRL to discuss the draft proposals of the public consultation of the Nitrates Action Programme.
🗓Monday, September 6
🕖7-9pm
🔍#HaveYourSay by September 20: https://t.co/9LfwNKdIXk
📩[email protected]— Dept of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (@agriculture_ie) September 3, 2021
The webinar is part of a wider consultation process that was launched on August 9, by the cabinet ministers from the two departments concerned, namely Charlie McConalogue and 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.
“It is a cornerstone of the sector’s contribution to meeting the objectives of good water quality in our groundwater.”
However, the proposed changes have come in for some significant criticism.
Over the weekend, president of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Tim Cullinan 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.
He called on the government to undertake a cost-benefit analysis to understand the economic cost of the proposed measures and the associated improvement to water quality, adding that the measures had the potential to challenge the viability of family farms with little improvement to water quality.