It would be unwise for Ireland to renege on the splash plate ban for slurry spreading on farm stocked over 100kg N/ha, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said.

Since 1 January of this year, farmers with a grassland stocking rate above 100kg N/ha must spread slurry using low-emission slurry spreading (LESS) methods. The condition, agreed under the current Nitrates Action Programme, has provoked a strong reaction from farmers on more marginal and hill land in recent months. Around 15,000 farmers are impacted by the change.

Minister Heydon has said that he fully understands the issues raised in relation to LESS on more marginal land.

“This is one of the reasons why LESS has not yet been rolled out to all farmers,” he said in response to a parliamentary question Minister of state Niall Collins. “Farmers with a grassland stocking rate below 100kg N/ha are not required to use LESS and can continue to use the splash plate to apply cattle slurry.

“The current requirements around the use of LESS were agreed with the European Commission as a key action in Ireland’s Nitrates Action Programme.

“They were signed into law in March 2022 as a measure to bring Ireland into compliance with its 2020-2030 ammonia reduction requirement of reducing emissions to 1% below 2005 levels,” he said.

Infringement notice

The Minister said that Ireland received an infringement notice from the European Commission in 2022 for non-compliance with its ammonia limit in 2020.

“Agriculture is responsible for 98% of ammonia emissions in the state” he said.

“At a time when Ireland is seeking to extend its nitrates derogation it would be unwise for the State to renege on its current commitments to the European Commission in respect of the Nitrates Action Programme,” he added.

In relation to slurry amendments, the Minister said there is ongoing research in this area.

In the absence of independent research on suitable alternatives, current commitments must be honoured if we are to protect our nitrates derogation

“Independent research into emerging technologies may offer solutions, especially as we seek to achieve compliance with the more onerous 2030 ammonia emissions requirement of being at least 5% below 2005 levels.

"However, in the absence of independent research on suitable alternatives, current commitments must be honoured if we are to protect our nitrates derogation and the agriculture sector is to avoid costly EU fines for breaching our ammonia emissions limit,” he said.