Fertiliser limits ‘will damage farming’

NEW limits on the spreading of fertilisers and livestock manure on land will inflict serious damage on productive farming in Ireland without any scientific justification, farm leaders said yesterday.

The measures, designed to protect water from pollution, were announced yesterday by Environment Minister Dick Roche.

In March 2004, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Ireland was not compliant with the Nitrates Directive because it failed to establish a programme to protect water quality.