Speaking to the press after the announcement of the extension to Ireland’s nitrates derogation, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon hailed the decision by Europe as a “very important day for Ireland”.

Minister Heydon outlined the next steps in the process of retaining the derogation, including the “onerous undertaking” of completing appropriate assessment across up to 583 sub-catchments, which the minister said will take three years to complete.

“There is language in the recitals about future derogations [being granted] and it is very much my ambition that we will have one into the future, because this is delivering water quality but it is also supporting farmers and it is proof positive that our farming system in Ireland is different to the rest of Europe,” he said.

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When asked by the Irish Farmers Journal if he thought the Habitats Directive was fit for purpose, the minister was less certain.

“I think there are huge challenges with the Habitats Directive. I’m not convinced that how it’s being interpreted now is what was envisaged by those that first designed it and signed up to it. It is very much the subject of court adjudication. We’ve seen in places like Holland where houses have been stopped from being built because of the Habitats Directive.

“The issue of enhancement is challenging in the Habitats Directive but it is there and I have spoken to Commissioner Roswall previously about the impact the Habitats Directive has across Europe and that there is a very strong rationale to have a debate to open it up to see the parts of it that are working.

“Obviously, it is there for a very important reason and we all care about habitats.”

The minister went on to say that as the Habitats Directive is being “weaponised” in the courts and that it needs to be looked at in terms of how it is being interpreted.