THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION has proposed that the controversial nitrates derogation be extended, in a major win for some Irish farmers who have been heavily lobbying to retain it.

European Commission Michael McGrath announced the proposed extension earlier today on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland. 

McGrath said the proposal will need to be approved by the EU’s Nitrates Commission and then (pending approval) the European Commission will formally adopt the decision. 

Asked if there will be any conditions attached, McGrath said this has yet to be ironed out.

“Fundamentally, this is about the substance of protecting water quality in Ireland,” McGrath said, adding that the Irish government has made “extensive efforts” and is “committed to a program of investment and a program of reform” to improve water quality. 

The EU’s Nitrates Directive is a law relevant to farming, which puts limits on the amount of fertiliser (including slurry) that can be used on land to help limit water pollution from agriculture. Because the law puts a limit on the amount of fertiliser that can be used, it essentially limits the number of livestock that can be held on a piece of land.

Ireland has an exclusive derogation, or an exemption, from the law, but this is due to expire later this year – Something the 7,000 farmers who have benefited from the derogation have been campaigning against. It has also been Government policy to push the EU for an exemption, something environmentalists have been extremely critical of.

The derogation is in place with the understanding that the farmers who get to maintain larger herds, do so in exchange for taking extra steps to protect water quality and the environment.

Reacting to the announcement, Irish Farmers’ Association president, Francie Gorman, said it was a positive development but “the devil will be in the detail”. 

Social Democrats’ environmental spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore was highly critical of the decision. 

Whitmore argued today that the existing agriculture model used in Ireland is “wrong” and that farmers have been forced into a “really intensive model that’s not working for them”.

Speaking on RTÉ Drivetime this afternoon, she told presenter Katie Hannon: “Since I started talking about this, I have had smaller farmers come to me, email me, and say, ‘Look, thank you so much for stating this’, because actually there’s 130,000 farmers in the country, and each of those farmers needs support and needs to get government support.”

Water quality going in wrong direction

In September of this year, a report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that the levels of nitrogen in Irish rivers jumped by 16% in the last year. 

The EPA said that nitrogen “remains too high” in the south-eastern half of the country and warned that further action will be needed to reduce concentrations to levels that support healthy ecosystems.

Too much nitrogen in a river can lead to the over-growth of algae that causes damage to other flora and fauna, and depletes oxygen in the river overall.

While the EPA said it accepted that significant work is underway in agriculture to reduce nitrogen levels, it stressed that the “scale and pace” of action needs to increase.