Watch: Heydon - there will be new conditions for a 3-year nitrates derogation
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon has said that the retention of a nitrates derogation for Ireland, if passed by the Nitrates Committee, will include new terms and conditions.
The comments come as European Environment Minister Jessika Roswall confirmed to Agriland today (Thursday, November 27) that the "commission has submitted a draft proposal to the Nitrates Committee to extend the Irish derogation".
She added: "It is now up to the member states to agree to this before the commission can formally adopt the proposal.”
The nitrates derogation allows farmers to exceed the limit of 170kg of livestock manure nitrogen per hectare set down in the Nitrates Regulations, up to a maximum of 220kg per hectare, subject to adherence to stricter rules.
Speaking in the Dáil today, Minister Martin Heydon said: "It is not a new derogation; it has different terms and conditions around time and around conditions and it has been very sensitive negotiations."
You can view the minister's address to the Dáil, by clicking the video below.
"The proposal is for a nitrates derogation extension; it would be a three-year period with new conditionality," the minister continued.
"I've worked very closely with a lot of the key stakeholders on this, but this is a very sensitive issue because this is still only a proposal going to a technical committee that have a vote on this.
"We still don't have a derogation on the first of January [2026) unless this committee [nitrates] votes to approve this proposal," Heydon added.
The minister said he has been working with colleagues in member states to ensure that the committee votes in favour of the proposal on December 9.
A spokesperson for the commission told Agriland today: "Last week, the commission proposed to extend the derogation under the Nitrates Directive for Ireland.
"The text will need to be approved by the Nitrates Committee in order to then be formally adopted by the commission. Any request for [nitrates] derogation is assessed on its merits: data on water quality, and compliance with the Nitrates Directive.
"The state of Irish waters is considered to be good even if nitrate concentrations are still high in some parts of the country. Ireland has taken – and continues to take - steps to address those issues."
