Irish dairy farmers will enjoy a three-year extension to a derogation allowing them to spread higher levels of fertiliser on their land, despite water quality concerns, following a European Union vote on Tuesday.
The Government has spent months intensively lobbying officials in the European Commission, the union’s executive arm that proposes and enforces EU laws, for further leeway, to prolong an existing Irish derogation to nitrates rules.
The nitrates derogation, which allows 7,000 Irish dairy farmers to spread more fertiliser on their land than their European counterparts, had been due to expire at the end of this year.
The nitrates directive, in force since 1991, aims to protect waterways and rivers from agricultural pollution and excess runoff. Successive governments have argued for the long-standing exemption to the EU law, on the basis Ireland’s pasture-based farming system facilitates livestock grazing outdoors for much of the year.
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The commission supported extending Ireland’s exemption to the EU’s nitrates law, subject to extra strings being attached around environmental standards. That extension was signed off by a unanimous vote of the EU’s 27 member states in Brussels on Tuesday.
Failing to negotiate a renewal to the nitrates derogation would have caused significant political backlash from farming organisations and communities, who view the exemption as crucial to Ireland’s system of dairy farming.
The commission sought assurances from the Irish Government that farmers availing of the derogation would comply with other EU habitat rules protecting nature sites, plants and species.
Nature conservation group An Taisce described the decision to extend the derogation as “shocking”.
The organisation, which has taken a challenge against Ireland’s nitrates plan to the European Court of Justice, said the State had “an abysmal track record of failure in protecting Irish waterways from agricultural pollution”.
Dr Elaine McGoff, head of advocacy at An Taisce, said the evidence clearly pointed to water pollution being a “serious problem” that was not helped by agricultural nitrogen in lakes and rivers.
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, which represents dairy farmers, welcomed the continued recognition of Ireland’s “unique grass-based system”.
Denis Drennan, president of the farming association, said additional obligations put on farmers to protect natural habitats must be fair and reasonable.
The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) said obtaining the extension was a “relief” but a longer-term solution is needed.
The association expressed concern at some of the conditions attached to the extension, in particular the requirement for “appropriate assessments” – an evaluation of environmental impacts under the Habitats Directive.
“How the appropriate assessment process will be applied is very much an unknown and is a potentially serious concern for farmers,” said IFA dairy chair Martin McElearney.
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said he hopes the derogation “brings certainty to farmers impacted”.
“There has been an intensive process of really strong collaboration and commitment by Government, farmers and industry to take the necessary actions to improve water quality and to continue the nitrates derogation,” he said.
Mr Heydon added: “Delivery in the next phase of the work, the completion of assessments under the Habitats Directive is a challenging task, but we will approach it in the same way as we delivered the continued derogation today: through collaboration and engagement.”
He said improved water quality and delivery on the Habitats Directive are all “necessary actions”, as the State will continue to seek availability of the derogation beyond the next three years.
Mr Heydon said several proposals put forward by the EU body were “not acceptable”, but the final deal is “challenging but balanced”.
European environment commissioner Jessika Roswall said Ireland took “meaningful steps to strengthen water protection”, so the commission allowed the extension.
Ireland and the Netherlands are the only remaining EU states granted a derogation to the nitrate rules.
Recent testing for nitrates in Ireland has shown promising reductions in some water bodies. However, overall the Environmental Protection Agency has found water quality in rivers and lakes is getting worse in large part due to the agriculture sector.
