There is “no chance” the decision to reduce the nitrates derogation from 250kg to 220kg of organic nitrogen (N) will be reversed.
This is according to both Jackie Cahill, chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine; and Claire Kerrane, Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture – who were both speaking on the Agriland Ploughing 2023 livestream.
In recent weeks it was confirmed that the European Commission would not revisit the conditions of Ireland’s nitrates derogation, which had allowed some Irish farmers to exceed the legal stocking limit of 170kgN/ha.
The upper limit of the derogation will therefore fall from 250kgN/ha to 220kgN/ha in large areas of the country from January.
Derogation
Speaking on the livestream, Cahill said that there has been “a bit of posturing” about the derogation.
The Oireachtas committee chairperson was in Brussels two week ago when the committee met with the European Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevicius
“He was emphatic that the decision was made on the derogation, there was absolutely no room for negotiation.
“That the environmental committee had made the decision and there was going to be no revisiting of it.”
Cahill said farmers now need to concentrate on the new maximum stocking rate in some areas of 220kg of organic N.
“I am delighted that the commissioner has decided to come and visit Ireland and see our unique style of farming.
“When we go back for the renegotiation of the 220kg, we will be the only farmers in Europe with a derogation.
“We need to concentrate on maintaining the 220kg of organic N and hopefully we will have water quality showing improvement.”
He notes that farmers have taken on a lot of conditions to qualify for a derogation and hopefully those 31 conditions that are attached to having a derogation will have an impact on water quality and we will see that by the time we get to 2025.
Cahill stated that the environmental protection agency (EPA) report did show that there wasn’t an improvement in water quality, but what has really frustrated farmers is that the adopted measures haven’t been given time to work.
False hope
Also speaking on the livestream Deputy Kerrane said the Taoiseach and Minister of Agriculture needed to get on the same page for the benefit of farmers.
“If they are going to have a meeting with the commissioner they need to be on the same page, they need to have a strategy going in and need to speaking from the same hymn sheet.
“The focus needs to be on farmers, I hope in a way that they haven’t been given false hope on this.
“Because it has not just been the minster that has been clear on this following his meeting with the commissioner, the committee members received the exact same response.”
It had been underlined to the minister that there was no room for negotiations on nitrates derogation reduction from 250kg to 220kg in some areas.
However Kerrane said that there is a “little bit of hope” in that some areas can continue to farm at 250kg and this shows that farms can be stocked at this level without impacting on water quality.