The long-running controversy over the State's failure to implement environmental protection plans on the spreading of slurry is nearing an end after the Government submitted formal proposals to the European Commission yesterday.
Following detailed negotiations with commission officials and Irish farming organisations, Minister for the Environment Dick Roche yesterday submitted a management plan under the Nitrates Directive.
It is expected to be formally accepted by the European Commission in the coming weeks.
The package will include proposals for a grant-aid package for farmers, expected to cost the Exchequer tens of millions over the coming years, to enable them to upgrade farming facilities to meet the new regulations.
Last December, another plan, which had the support of farming organisations, was rejected by the commission for failing to provide sufficient environmental protections.
The directive aims to protect the quality of ground and surface water by limiting pollution from animal slurry. However, resistance from farming bodies in Ireland has seen successive governments delaying the plan because of its potential impact on farming costs and productivity.
Yesterday's plan, which limits the amounts of slurry farmers can spread and the times it can be spread, should have been in place 13 years ago.
It places a prohibition on the spreading of slurry to 30-34 weeks a year, and will also limit the amount that can be spread during the period.
The most restrictive periods will apply in Cos Cavan and Monaghan, which have suffered severe water pollution from slurry run-off.
Announcing the submission yesterday, Mr Roche defended the delay in the Government submitting an acceptable plan. He said he had adopted an approach in recent months of trying to achieve a deal that was acceptable to all sides and that could be implemented.
The proposal got a limited welcome from the IFA yesterday. IFA chairman John Dillon said while the IFA did not support the specific nitrates plan as outlined, it welcomed the proposed grants system of up to 70 per cent in some areas for new slurry storage facilities.
The package would go "a long way to helping farmers meet the high costs of compliance with the nitrates action programme, particularly for additional manure storage capacity".
Yesterday the Department of Agriculture said the exact cost of the grant package was not finalised. A spokesman said it was part of discussions with the Department of Finance.
He said talks would also be taking place with the European Commission on the forthcoming programme for rural development, and on the proportion of the package to be EU financed.
The potential cost of the package is significant, however, with the IFA estimating a cost of €1 billion to upgrade all farms to comply with the new directive.Other organisations, such as the advisory service Teagasc, have put the cost at half of this.