There is not enough scientific evidence to justify reducing Ireland’s nitrates derogation limit, Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Tim Cullinan has said.
He told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture on Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 'water quality monitoring report on nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in Irish waters 2022' on foot of the European Commission requirement, which resulted in the so called “red map”, is not the optimal approach.
IFA water quality expert Shane Herlihy outlined to the committee a number of concerns about the Commission's criteria and how it was applied by the EPA.
Review
"It is clear that this red map cannot form the basis for any review,” he said.
The IFA estimates that the loss to the rural economy will likely be €236m. However, it said that the impact it will have on family farms will be much more devastating.
“Farmers will take on board scientific evidence and have implemented a huge amount of measures at farm level, but what is proposed here is not logical and farmers are getting frustrated, as evidenced by Cork IFA’s rally last week and Kilkenny IFA’s upcoming event on Friday night,” Cullinan said.
Cullinan said the requirement to conduct a two-year review of water quality in 2023 was introduced without consultation with stakeholders and will have a significant economic impact on derogation farmers' livelihoods and deliver negligible improvements to water quality.
“Article 12’s assessment of water quality is not scientifically robust. It is not fair or justified, yet it will have massive ramifications for the entire agricultural sector.
“[The] IFA is seeking an immediate resolution by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to Article 12 and to explore alternative measures that can improve water quality without decimating farm families,” he concluded.
SHARING OPTIONS