Tim Cullinan
, IFA president
“I believe that the minister can go back to the European Commissioner and renegotiate this. The way this has been handled is showing total disrespect for the effort that farmers in derogation have put in to date.
IFA president Tim Cullinan. \ Philip Doyle
“We can get to the stage where water quality will improve. Where I’m really concerned is if the minister was to continue on this journey with his reduction of the derogation, within two to three years’ time, we would be saying what was all this about.”
Elaine Houlihan,
Macra president
“I think it’s now down to accepting this 220kg and maintaining it. The fight needs to continue but the likelihood of it being turned around, I don’t know.
“It’s the timeline for reducing stocking numbers. There’s a lot of factors that we need taken into account. We need extra weeks.
Macra president Elaine Houlihan. \ Philip Doyle
“We need a bit more time to see can people adjust, if we can get [the new limits] to wait until halfway through the spring. We can’t have a welfare issue here either.”
Pat McCormack,
ICMSA president
“The 2022 water quality results didn’t give farmers the time to see improvements. We’ve been the envy of Europe. We won’t have any political allies for turning it around.
ICMSA president Pat McCormack. \ Philip Doyle
“Our efforts now have to be at ensuring that we have the 220kg for the years ahead. It’s clear to us that the minister has to do something for the family farm model. It lands at the door of the minister and his team of officials. One would question the initiative of the dairy vision group.”
Dermot Kelleher,
ICSA president
“The interests of family-run dairy farms are important and so too are the interests of cattle, sheep and tillage farmers.
“It is clear now that both the Government and EU are not engaging properly with farm representatives. Progress can only be made if we can find a way forward to manage the interests of all farmers on a fair and equitable basis.
ICSA president Dermot Kelleher. \ Philip Doyle
“I think the key here is for the farm organisations to come together to work out a strategy that puts balance and fairness for all farmers at the heart of our collective lobbying efforts.”
Vincent Roddy,
INHFA president
“While I accept that this [reduction] will create an issue for some farmers, and obviously you would expect that the necessary support will be provided here, we must also be conscious of the wider implications for the 125,000 farmers who are currently within the nitrates limits.
INHFA president Vincent Roddy. \ Philip Doyle
“For these farmers, where export markets are critical, it is vital that we protect Ireland’s green image and, where possible, build on it.
“In the coming years, we will see a continued push to reduce the nitrates requirements even further as the European Union moves away from providing any country with a derogation.”
Tim Cullinan
, IFA president
“I believe that the minister can go back to the European Commissioner and renegotiate this. The way this has been handled is showing total disrespect for the effort that farmers in derogation have put in to date.
IFA president Tim Cullinan. \ Philip Doyle
“We can get to the stage where water quality will improve. Where I’m really concerned is if the minister was to continue on this journey with his reduction of the derogation, within two to three years’ time, we would be saying what was all this about.”
Elaine Houlihan,
Macra president
“I think it’s now down to accepting this 220kg and maintaining it. The fight needs to continue but the likelihood of it being turned around, I don’t know.
“It’s the timeline for reducing stocking numbers. There’s a lot of factors that we need taken into account. We need extra weeks.
Macra president Elaine Houlihan. \ Philip Doyle
“We need a bit more time to see can people adjust, if we can get [the new limits] to wait until halfway through the spring. We can’t have a welfare issue here either.”
Pat McCormack,
ICMSA president
“The 2022 water quality results didn’t give farmers the time to see improvements. We’ve been the envy of Europe. We won’t have any political allies for turning it around.
ICMSA president Pat McCormack. \ Philip Doyle
“Our efforts now have to be at ensuring that we have the 220kg for the years ahead. It’s clear to us that the minister has to do something for the family farm model. It lands at the door of the minister and his team of officials. One would question the initiative of the dairy vision group.”
Dermot Kelleher,
ICSA president
“The interests of family-run dairy farms are important and so too are the interests of cattle, sheep and tillage farmers.
“It is clear now that both the Government and EU are not engaging properly with farm representatives. Progress can only be made if we can find a way forward to manage the interests of all farmers on a fair and equitable basis.
ICSA president Dermot Kelleher. \ Philip Doyle
“I think the key here is for the farm organisations to come together to work out a strategy that puts balance and fairness for all farmers at the heart of our collective lobbying efforts.”
Vincent Roddy,
INHFA president
“While I accept that this [reduction] will create an issue for some farmers, and obviously you would expect that the necessary support will be provided here, we must also be conscious of the wider implications for the 125,000 farmers who are currently within the nitrates limits.
INHFA president Vincent Roddy. \ Philip Doyle
“For these farmers, where export markets are critical, it is vital that we protect Ireland’s green image and, where possible, build on it.
“In the coming years, we will see a continued push to reduce the nitrates requirements even further as the European Union moves away from providing any country with a derogation.”
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