Proposed derogation conditions 'too high a price' for rural Ireland - Mullooly
Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly has said that the latest information emerging on Ireland’s nitrates derogation “places Ireland on an unfair and ineffective form of environmental parole”.
Mullooly said: “From what we are hearing, the conditions proposed for extending the derogation from January 1 will be extremely stringent, effectively placing Irish farmers on an environmental leash while other sectors, such as local authorities and heavy industry, do not face the same level of forensic scrutiny.
“Despite huge investment by Irish farmers in measures to improve water quality, the European Commission now seems intent on adopting a regime whereby any single breach of either the Habitats Directive or water-quality obligations, even when not attributable to agriculture, could jeopardise the entire derogation.
“That is an unacceptable and disproportionate burden to place on the farming community at a time when untreated sewage is still flowing from municipal sites directly into our rivers and lakes," he said.
‘Too high a price’
Mullooly said that the approach being considered “would be much too high a price to pay for rural Ireland’s key economic driver”.
He added that it “may well reflect weak and ineffective negotiation on the part of our government.”
“Ireland is fully entitled to a nitrates derogation, based on its unique and award-winning grass-based beef model and on the best available science.
“I completely reject the suggestion, implicit in the Commission’s approach, that the Irish dairy and farming sector is somehow ‘guilty’ for the sins of others and must now prove its innocence through an exhaustive and one-sided examination of water-quality and habitats compliance," the MEP said.
‘Scepticism’
“Irish farmers deserve fairness, balance and evidence-based regulation, not suspicion, the double standards, and punitive conditions that ignore other sources of environmental pressure,” he said.
Mullooly said he was looking ahead to next week’s decision on the derogation in Brussels "with trepidation and a great deal of scepticism".
“Farmers need a way to get on with their work - producing high-quality food and protecting the environment," the MEP said.
“We cannot put obstacles in their way that create a serious roadblock to both objectives.”
