Farmers’ efforts to improve water quality have not been forgotten, despite the European Commission’s recent shift of the nitrates derogation goalposts, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon told the Irish Farmers Journal.
Minister Heydon insists that implementing measures at farm-level is what has left Ireland in a position to be the sole player still left on the pitch looking to secure another derogation while all other countries which previously availed of a derogation have lost them.
“Farmers need to be reassured because sometimes when we talk about a change of the goalposts, it seems like all the work we did on water quality [has went unrecognised] and here we are again, a new set of rules,” the minister commented.
“We wouldn't be still on the pitch as the last remaining country looking to have another derogation if farmers hadn't done what they did on water quality.”
Court challenges
The minister said that the newly-introduced hurdle of addressing the Habitats Directive by conducting appropriate assessments on the derogation and protected sites is related to an Taisce’s court objections to the current Nitrates Action Programme.
An Taisce’s challenge has “heightened” the relevance of habitats to the derogation, despite the Dutch nitrates case from which the new criteria stem having been “around for a few years”, Minister Heydon said.
The relevance of the Dutch nitrates case to Ireland’s nitrates policy is that seeking a derogation from the standard 170kg N/ha is one of the few times the State goes to Brussels “asking for consent”, he claimed.
Farm-level assessments should not be needed, Minister Heydon said. \ Philip Doyle
“In that context, they can say, well look these are our rules, our game played, on our pitch, and you must play by these rules or else it doesn't work.”
Playing by these rules would see the Commission “legally justified” to put a proposal to other member states that Ireland’s derogation should be renewed, Minister Heydon stated.
“Once you get them to agree to it, it's like it's their proposal. They go into their bat for it, they put it forward.”
The focus of the Department of Agriculture for July is to inform the Commission that the State does intend on addressing the Habitats Directive in its derogation application and that it wants to go about it at catchment or sub-catchment level.
Although more practical that taking a farm-by-farm approach, the process “will take years” to complete but there is still “no commitment that the ask around time will be facilitated” to get the work done after December’s derogation cliff edge, the minister added.
“Nobody in the Commission has said they expect us to go to a farm-by-farm appropriate assessment. That's not practical. There isn’t enough ecologists to do that.”
Read more
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What is appropriate assessment?
Farmers’ efforts to improve water quality have not been forgotten, despite the European Commission’s recent shift of the nitrates derogation goalposts, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon told the Irish Farmers Journal.
Minister Heydon insists that implementing measures at farm-level is what has left Ireland in a position to be the sole player still left on the pitch looking to secure another derogation while all other countries which previously availed of a derogation have lost them.
“Farmers need to be reassured because sometimes when we talk about a change of the goalposts, it seems like all the work we did on water quality [has went unrecognised] and here we are again, a new set of rules,” the minister commented.
“We wouldn't be still on the pitch as the last remaining country looking to have another derogation if farmers hadn't done what they did on water quality.”
Court challenges
The minister said that the newly-introduced hurdle of addressing the Habitats Directive by conducting appropriate assessments on the derogation and protected sites is related to an Taisce’s court objections to the current Nitrates Action Programme.
An Taisce’s challenge has “heightened” the relevance of habitats to the derogation, despite the Dutch nitrates case from which the new criteria stem having been “around for a few years”, Minister Heydon said.
The relevance of the Dutch nitrates case to Ireland’s nitrates policy is that seeking a derogation from the standard 170kg N/ha is one of the few times the State goes to Brussels “asking for consent”, he claimed.
Farm-level assessments should not be needed, Minister Heydon said. \ Philip Doyle
“In that context, they can say, well look these are our rules, our game played, on our pitch, and you must play by these rules or else it doesn't work.”
Playing by these rules would see the Commission “legally justified” to put a proposal to other member states that Ireland’s derogation should be renewed, Minister Heydon stated.
“Once you get them to agree to it, it's like it's their proposal. They go into their bat for it, they put it forward.”
The focus of the Department of Agriculture for July is to inform the Commission that the State does intend on addressing the Habitats Directive in its derogation application and that it wants to go about it at catchment or sub-catchment level.
Although more practical that taking a farm-by-farm approach, the process “will take years” to complete but there is still “no commitment that the ask around time will be facilitated” to get the work done after December’s derogation cliff edge, the minister added.
“Nobody in the Commission has said they expect us to go to a farm-by-farm appropriate assessment. That's not practical. There isn’t enough ecologists to do that.”
Read more
Watch: 20% CAP cut a 'decent' place to start but not to end – Minister Heydon
Radical shakeup of State's derogation application process on table
Publish Commission's derogation demands - IFA
Ireland to seek longer derogation term – Minister Heydon
What is appropriate assessment?
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