A revised Rural Environment Protection Scheme that rules out payments to farmers whose use of nitrates exceeds the stated limit has been submitted to the EU by the Department of Agriculture and Food.
The Department's action angered the main farming organisations which claim the move will exclude between 8,000 and 12,000 farmers who should be entitled to the REPS payments even though they use more than 170kg of nitrogen per hectare, the maximum allowed under the plan.
But the Department said last night it would submit a further application which would allow these farmers qualify for the payments, which are given to farmers for working the land in an environmentally sensitive way.
The issue of the revised scheme has become entangled with Ireland's failure to comply with the EU Nitrates Directive which was introduced in 1991.
A national nitrates plan is being devised by the Department of the Environment and the Department of Agriculture. The EU has threatened Ireland with legal action for failing to implement the Directive, aimed at curbing the use of nitrates.
Following a meeting between the Department and farm organisations on Tuesday, the president of the Irish Farmers' Association, Mr John Dillon, said further delays in implementing the REPS scheme would be unacceptable.
He expressed serious concern that Government proposals on the Nitrates Directive had denied 8,000 farmers, who use in excess of 170kg of nitrogen per hectare and less than 210kg, of joining the scheme at this stage.
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has called for the establishment of a high-level group to co-ordinate the REPS and nitrates issues.
ICMSA president Mr Pat O'Rourke said he was shocked that the REPS and the Nitrates Directive were not synchronised and that the EU had not approved the proposal on REPS which was negotiated as part of Sustaining Progress.
The Government has set aside €260 million to bring around 70,000 farmers into the scheme.