Government walked farmers to nitrates ‘cliff edge’ – Cairns

Government walked farmers to a nitrates “cliff edge”, leaving them unprepared to adjust to a derogation cut, according to the leader of the Social Democrats Holly Cairns. “We knew this was coming, the minister knew this was coming, farming organisations knew it was coming, Fine Gael knew this was coming and nobody would stand up and say ‘we need to prepare farms that have a derogation for this’,” she said.

Charade

Speaking during an Irish Farmers Journal panel at the National Ploughing Championships, Cairns slammed the Government for playing a political “charade” on the derogation cut, leaving farmers with uncertainty.

“This charade from Government, in particular Fine Gael trying to say ‘that’s Fianna Fáil doing that’. Everybody can see the whole thing for the charade that it is,” she added.

The Social Democrats leader said that when it comes to Government’s agricultural policies, it’s a case of “false promises and empty gestures”.

“Here’s the constraints, let’s push them, let’s go past [farmers] and then eventually we’re left in a situation like this [on nitrates] and I think it’s time for a new approach,” she said.

Cairns was joined by chair of the Oireachtas agriculture committee Jackie Cahill TD, who said that the discussion with the European Commission on maintaining the nitrates derogation at 250kg N/ha is over.

Posturing

“This decision is made and no amount of political posturing is going to change it,” the Fianna Fáil TD said, adding that “unfortunately, we have to live with that decision”.

Independent TD Carol Nolan called for unity within Government on the nitrates issue.

“We need politicians unifying fast, and we don’t need one party going out against another. We need attempts to be constructive. There’s a lot of pressure and a lot of uncertainty. Farmers don’t know what’s going to come next,” she said.

Nolan also said that she hopes the new food ombudsman holds retailers to account. “We have a cheap food policy in place that is serving nobody. I think that the retailers need to be called out and held to account.”