Government ‘must amend nitrates directive to save agri sector jobs’

JOBS will be at risk in the agri sector if the Government does not amend the nitrates directive, the Irish Farmers Association claimed yesterday.

IFA president John Bryan said the current review of the nitrates regulations is a key test of the Government’s commitment to safeguard jobs and remove impractical restrictions which impose unnecessary costs on farming and curtail the sector’s capacity to expand.

Speaking at a lobby session with Oireachtas members in Dublin, he said the agriculture sector has significant potential to expand.