Irish ammonia emissions continue to rise and remain above EU emissions limits, according to new data released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The EPA’s latest report on air quality shows ammonia emissions in Ireland, almost all of which are produced by agriculture, increased by 0.9kilotonnes (kt) in 2018 to reach 119.3kt.

At this level, Irish ammonia emissions are currently 3.3kt above the 116kt limit set by the EU. Irish ammonia emissions have exceeded the EU limit since 2016. However, the rate of growth has slowed, according to the EPA.

Ammonia emissions arise from animal manures and nitrogen fertiliser. To reduce ammonia emissions below the EU ceiling, farmers are being urged to switch their fertiliser usage to protected urea, which has almost 80% lower ammonia emissions than straight urea.

Alongside this, farmers are also moving away from applying slurry via splash plates (which leads to high ammonia losses) in favour of low-emission-spreading systems, such as trailing shoe or dribble bar slurry spreading systems.

The combination of these new technologies should help Irish agriculture reduce its ammonia emissions over the coming decade. However, from 2020 to 2029, the EU has set even stricter ammonia limits for Ireland, which will reduce to 112kt.

“Ammonia emissions need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. The underlying drivers are the use of animal manure and nitrogen fertilisers, which can be reduced through widespread adoption of on-farm measures,” said director of the office of environmental sustainability at the EPA Dr Eimear Cotter.