The Irish farm organisations gave a very guarded response to the opinion issued by advocate general (AG) Kokott of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the nitrates derogation.
“Our initial view is that some aspects may be of concern.
Our legal team is studying the judgment in full,” an IFA spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the ICMSA said the organisation was “studying the AG opinion and consulting with their solicitors in relation to same”.
“The association will not be commenting further until the ECJ ruling is published,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, An Taisce maintained that the opinion validated its decision to take the judicial review of Ireland’s fifth Nitrates Action Programme (NAP).
“From our knowledge and understanding, the State has not provided the assessments and cannot provide the assurances that the NAP will not worsen water quality or undermine the environmental objectives of EU directives on water, habitats, and environmental assessment,” Dr Elaine McGoff of An Taisce said.
SHARING OPTIONS