The conditions that will be attached to Ireland’s nitrates derogation will determine if the proposal to extend the derogation for three years is a victory or another problem for Irish dairy, Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher has said.
Commenting following the news that the European Commission has proposed a three-year extension to Ireland’s nitrates derogation, Kelleher said that an extension is welcome.
“However, if the conditions are so onerous or burdensome that it makes operating too problematic, then today’s announcement won’t move the dial in the right direction for Irish agriculture,” he said.
Conditionality
His party colleague in the Midlands North West constituency Barry Cowen warned that Ireland risks accepting a nitrates derogation deal “without knowing the conditions attached”.
“Any deal is not automatically a good deal. We still do not know what level of conditionality will be attached to the derogation, because those with a democratic mandate to represent Irish farmers have not been shown the proposal. That is unacceptable given the stakes involved.
“Decisions of this magnitude cannot be left entirely to an unelected committee. If the conditions being drafted make the derogation unworkable or unviable, then the time for targeted discussion is now, not after it is signed off and imposed on farmers,” he said.
Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh said that the proposal means things “are heading in the right direction”.
However, she warned that “farmers must know we have not yet crossed the final hurdle and I fear they are in for an anxious couple of weeks ahead of the vote from the nitrates committee next month”.
“While I welcome the Commission’s decision to recommend an extension to the derogation, we must see the full text of the proposal immediately.
"With the current derogation up in just over a month’s time, we cannot leave our farmers in the dark for any longer," she said.
Read more
Three-year extension to nitrates derogation on the table
Comment: derogation extension could be a 'slow no'
The conditions that will be attached to Ireland’s nitrates derogation will determine if the proposal to extend the derogation for three years is a victory or another problem for Irish dairy, Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher has said.
Commenting following the news that the European Commission has proposed a three-year extension to Ireland’s nitrates derogation, Kelleher said that an extension is welcome.
“However, if the conditions are so onerous or burdensome that it makes operating too problematic, then today’s announcement won’t move the dial in the right direction for Irish agriculture,” he said.
Conditionality
His party colleague in the Midlands North West constituency Barry Cowen warned that Ireland risks accepting a nitrates derogation deal “without knowing the conditions attached”.
“Any deal is not automatically a good deal. We still do not know what level of conditionality will be attached to the derogation, because those with a democratic mandate to represent Irish farmers have not been shown the proposal. That is unacceptable given the stakes involved.
“Decisions of this magnitude cannot be left entirely to an unelected committee. If the conditions being drafted make the derogation unworkable or unviable, then the time for targeted discussion is now, not after it is signed off and imposed on farmers,” he said.
Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh said that the proposal means things “are heading in the right direction”.
However, she warned that “farmers must know we have not yet crossed the final hurdle and I fear they are in for an anxious couple of weeks ahead of the vote from the nitrates committee next month”.
“While I welcome the Commission’s decision to recommend an extension to the derogation, we must see the full text of the proposal immediately.
"With the current derogation up in just over a month’s time, we cannot leave our farmers in the dark for any longer," she said.
Read more
Three-year extension to nitrates derogation on the table
Comment: derogation extension could be a 'slow no'
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