Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has agreed to invite the European Commissioner for the Environment to Ireland to speak with agriculture sector stakeholders in relation to the nitrates derogation, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
IFA president Tim Cullinan said an IFA delegation had a positive meeting with the Taoiseach and a Fine Gael delegation on the margins of the Fine Gael think-in in Limerick today (Friday, September 15).
According to the IFA, the Taoiseach agreed to write to Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius, inviting him to Ireland to meet with him, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, and a delegation from the sector; or for the commissioner to meet with sector representatives in Brussels.
“The Taoiseach was clear he understood the massive impact that any cut in the nitrates derogation limit would have on Irish farmers and the wider sector,” the IFA said.
On the issue of scheme payment dates, which also featured in today’s meeting, the Taoiseach “acknowledged the real challenges that payment delays would cause for farmers,” according to the IFA.
The farm association said that Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon (who was also in the meeting), undertook to make every effort to get the payments out as early as possible in 2023.
The minister said that if there was any possibility to get the payments out sooner than the delayed dates, it would be done. He also committed to reverting back to the original payment dates for 2024, according to the IFA.
“These delays are unacceptable and will cause huge problems for farmers. The ANC [Areas of Natural Constraints] scheme has the same terms and conditions as last year and there is no excuse for them being delayed,” Cullinan commented.
The IFA delegation also raised the conditions of the recently announced National Beef Welfare Scheme, and the need to increase supports for sheep and livestock farmers.
“These issues must be addressed in the upcoming budget. These vulnerable sectors must be supported as they are the backbone of rural Ireland,” Cullinan added.
Speaking to Agriland, Minister of State Martin Heydon said: “The IFA highlighted a number of issues of concern, from the nitrates directive to the payments issue and we discussed them out.
“We had a farmer in the room who’s directly affected by the nitrates derogation, and she’s going to lose a number of cows from her herd with a move to 220.
“We know the implications of this and it was a very frank and open conversation around the challenges. The IFA had a very clear request, that [the Taoiseach] would write to the commissioner and invite him to Ireland, and to meet with representatives of the sector, and the Taoiseach undertook to do that, and was happy to do that,” Minister Heydon added.
“We know how important this issue is and how important Irish agriculture is to the overall economy, so that’s why it was a lengthy meeting today, between senior members of Fine Gael and IFA, to work through those issues, and we will continue to do that in future,” he said.