Simplifying EU environmental regulations is a key priority for IFA

The IFA spoke to the European Commission regarding the on-the-ground impact of the numerous directives in which Irish farmers participate

IFA environmental chair said some of the directives have caused massive uncertainty and increased costs to farmers.

During an implementation dialogue event Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) offered an on-the-ground impact of EU-led directives.

IFA environment chair John Murphy represented the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations (COPA) at the event, hosted by environment commissioner Jessika Roswall and agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen, to discuss the on-the-ground impact of the Nitrates Directive, Water Framework Directive and the Birds and Habitats Directives.

In December 2025, the European Commission put forward a proposed environmental simplification package. 

The package aims to ensure EU environmental goals are achieved in more efficient, less costly and smarter ways, with a focus on industrial emissions, circularity and environmental assessments.

At the event, Mr Murphy said farmers were fully committed to environmental protection but warned the overly precautionary application of EU law was placing disproportionate costs and burdens on farmers, with too little regard for the socio-economic reality on the ground.

Progressive court judgments in the Birds, Habitats and Nitrates Directives have created massive uncertainty, imposed increasing costs and, in some instances, prevented normal farm practices and development.

"This is undermining farm viability, and the uncertainty is discouraging a new generation from entering the sector.” 

Mr Murphy said the dialogue was an important opportunity for the commissioners to hear directly from farmers about their practical experiences dealing with environmental regulation.

He said the current environmental regulatory system required urgent reform, adding: “It is now being viewed by many farmers as a system designed to control and limit production rather than genuinely deliver environmental outcomes.” 

As part of the IFA’s ongoing efforts to simplify regulations through constructive engagement with the European Commission, IFA deputy president Alice Doyle met with director-general of DG Environment, Eric Mamer, in Brussels.

Ms Doyle said: “Our engagement with DG Environment in relation to environmental files affecting farmers, including simplification of the Nitrates and Habitats Directive and the Nature Restoration Law remain a core IFA priority.”