The Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) is "deeply concerned" with Monday’s announcement that Ireland will have to prove that another nitrates derogation would be compliant with the Habitats Directive.
The concern and frustration was outlined in a letter sent by ICOS to the European Commissioner for the Environment Jessika Roswall before a delegation of co-op chairs land in Brussels for a series of meetings on the derogation.
The co-op group is to meet with MEPs and representatives of Commissioner Roswall next Tuesday and Wednesday.
ICOS president Edward Carr stated that changing the goalposts “adds a new and potentially onerous layer of compliance to the nitrates derogation that was never envisaged when the Nitrates Directive and Habitats Directive came into force in Ireland in the early 1990s”.
Carr referenced decreased nutrient concentrations in rivers last year amid the “ongoing national movement to improve water quality” as reasons for ICOS frustration with the change to the derogation application process.
Implications
He said that the Government must understand the implications of trying to demonstrate this compliance before it agrees to do so.
“We will strongly impress on the European Commission our deep concerns that this development will have for business certainty at farm and processing level and for generational renewal in the sector.
“We will use the opportunity to reinforce to the Commission the benefits of Ireland’s unique grass-based system and the strong momentum building in Ireland on water quality and the verifiable improvement in water quality, as well as other environmental metrics such as climate and ammonia.”
Carr ended his remarks by stating that dairy co-operatives have a “strong track record” of delivering sustainability through new initiatives, outlining that the future of Ireland’s grass-based system depends on having a “workable” derogation.
SHARING OPTIONS