Agriculture minister says it's his 'ambition' to secure future derogation deals for Ireland

Martin Heydon said securing derogation deals for Ireland post 2028 was his 'ambition' for the future

EU environment commissioner Jessika Roswall and agriculture minister Martin Heydon meeting earlier this year.

Agriculture minister Martin Heydon said it was his “ambition” to have more derogation agreements for Ireland secured in the future.

“Future derogations, that'll be very much my ambition, that we would have that into the future as well, because this is delivering for water quality, but it's also supporting our farmers, and it has proved positive that our farming system in Ireland is very different to the rest of Europe.” 

Ireland's derogation extension was voted in on December 9 by the Nitrates Committee in Brussels. 

The three-year extension will allow Irish derogation farmers to continue farming under the scheme until the end of 2028, making Ireland the only EU member state still operating under derogation by January 2026.

Derogation farmers will operate under the 6th Nitrates Action Programm, and its requirements, which were signed into law this week. Derogation farmers in the Slaney, Barrow, Nore and (Munster) Blackwater river catchment areas will be subjected to additional requirements.

The minister remained steadfast in his positive opinion on the derogation extension, despite criticism from environmental organisation An Taisce, which called the vote in favour of the extension a “bad day for Irish waterbodies”.

“I genuinely believe that derogation will deliver,” Mr Heydon said.

I've always said our farmers can't go green environmentally, if they’re in the red financially, and to be financially supported through the range of measures that I've outlined here, but being able to operate at higher stocking density is a really key component of that.

"Similarly, I believe it will be counterintuitive, actually, if we were without a derogation, you could actually see a more intensive housing system here, more like the rest of Europe, which will be completely counterproductive and against what most environmentalists would want to see.” 

The minister also addressed the Habitats Directive, which has been in place since the 1990s and with requirements of the derogation extension was the proof of compliance with the directive as required by the EU Commission.

He went on to address the worries of people who call the directive outdated, saying that it would do no harm to be re-examined.

“I have spoken to [environment] Commissioner Roswall previously about the impact the Habitats Directive has across Europe, and that there is a very strong rationale to have a debate and to look to open it up and to see the parts of it that are working.”