Farm lobby dismayed at EU reaction to nitrates directive plan
Ireland’s action programme was submitted to the commission last October and the following month a detailed scientific case was made to Brussels in support of a derogation to allow farmers to operate, under appropriate conditions, above the general organic nitrogen limit specified in the EU directive.
However, the commission has responded that the action programme as submitted does not represent a complete and compliant response to a European Court of Justice judgment last March and that modifications and further actions are necessary.
Environment Minister Dick Roche said he was disappointed at the commission’s response. The programme represented a tremendous amount of work and consensus by Government departments and the farming community.
“The terms of the letter are being considered in the department and the Department of Agriculture and Food and a reply will be issued within the required three-month period following consultation with interested parties including the main farming organisations,” he said.
IFA president John Dillon said the Irish action programme is based on sound scientific advice and best agricultural practice under Irish production and environmental conditions, as recommended by Teagasc.
He said the more stringent controls on farming being sought by the commission, which go beyond those included in the action programme, are excessive and unnecessary for environmental protection, and would ultimately damage progressive farming in Ireland.
Mr Dillon said the programme, following the intervention of Denis Brosnan, who acted as an adviser, represents a sensible package of measures which balances the protection of water quality, with maintaining a viable and competitive agricultural sector.
ICMSA president Pat O’Rourke said he was dismayed and surprised at the commission’s refusal.
The Brosnan proposals remain solid and strike the correct balance between commercial viability and the commission’s concerns on nitrates usage.
Officials from both of the Government Departments most centrally involved must enter into detailed negotiations so that the refinements the commission requires can be made without undermining the central thrust of Mr Brosnan’s proposals, he said.
ICSA president Malcolm Thompson said he was disappointed and annoyed at the EU rejection of the plan. Farmers could not tolerate any additional storage requirements.
Fine Gael agriculture spokesperson Denis Naughten, TD, said the EU was no longer prepared to tolerate the Government’s fudging of the nitrates issue and is likely to impose even harsher conditions than those originally envisaged in the 1990s.
