Is this likely to be Ireland’s last derogation?

Agriculture minister Martin Heydon and European environment commissioner Jessika Roswall visited the farm of Pat and Kaleigh Durkin near Kilcullen, Co Kildare, on Friday. Picture: Department of Agriculture

With difficulty securing an extension of the nitrates derogation into 2026, many in the sector are beginning to wonder if this could be Ireland’s last.

Despite mounting pressure from the European Commission over water quality and new obligations under the Habitats Directive, minister of state for agriculture Martin Heydon said he remains “hopeful” — but warned that the next negotiation will be “a big undertaking”.

“As of now, we don’t have a derogation,” he told the Irish Examiner. “But one of the reasons we don’t is because I absolutely want to fight and negotiate for one that gives us the time to address the Habitats Directive.”

“There’s a very good reason why we’re the last country in Europe still seeking a derogation — our farming system is very different,” he said.

There are two aspects to this: one is to get the derogation beyond the end of this year, which is what every farmer wants to hear. But the second part is what the detail looks like — and that detail has to be workable for our farmers.

The draft proposals for the sixth Nitrates Action Programme include additional slurry storage and a mandatory nutrient balance number for every farm — a measure aimed at ensuring farmers track what nutrients are entering and leaving their holdings.

Mr Heydon said these steps would be “impactful” for water quality. However, he warned that the requirements under the Habitats Directive, in their current form, were too demanding.

“The commission needs to understand how onerous this would be. Addressing the Habitats Directive on a catchment and sub-catchment basis is a big undertaking — we have 583 sub-catchments in the country — and we’d need time to do that,” he said.

Asked whether it was realistic for Ireland to continue farming on the basis of a derogation in the long term, Mr Heydon said: “I think it’s critical that we do. Derogation farmers are already signed up to a higher level of environmental conditions, and removing that system could have a retrograde impact on water quality. 

"If the derogation were taken away, we’d risk moving towards a more intensive, housed system — like elsewhere in Europe — and that’s not what we want. 

Our cows are out at grass in Ireland far longer than any other country in Europe, thanks to our temperate, maritime climate. We want that to continue.

It's a sentiment backed up by recent industry reports. An industry impact assessment commissioned by Dairy Industry Ireland earlier this year concluded that losing the nitrates derogation could cost the Irish dairy industry €45bn — a figure comparable to the €35bn State bailout of the Anglo Irish Bank.

The projection for the dairy sector was based on the cumulative loss in economic output between 2026 and 2035 due to a potential drop in dairy exports and farm income, which could also threaten the viability of many dairy farming families.

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Irish farmers have already delivered water improvement work. However, it will take time for the results of these efforts to show.

Mr Heydon said other stakeholders, including Uisce Éireann, were also stepping up their responsibilities, with the Cabinet sub-committee on water quality meeting last week to discuss progress on septic tanks and wastewater management.

However, with the current derogation due to expire at year’s end, the Department of Agriculture’s talks with the European Commission have now entered the crunch stage — and the clock is ticking.

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