The general secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said that he is “reasonably confident” Ireland will have a nitrates derogation after 2026.
Brendan Gleeson told the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Limerick yesterday (Monday, December 2) that “an awful lot of work both technically and politically” has been done on the issue.
However, he said that he could not guarantee that there would not be some new conditionality applied if the European Commission and member states agree to give Ireland an extension.
Gleeson said that Ireland “showed a united front” when a delegation from the European Commission visited Ireland in recent months.
“I can tell you that delegation was impressed with the work we were doing, but at its heart this will be a technical exercise.
“We have to persuade the commission that we’re doing everything we can to improve water quality and this will be a major focus for the department in the immediate future,” he said.
Nitrates derogation
Gleeson said that in order to secure an extension to the nitrates derogation Ireland will have to demonstrate that “we are on a pathway to improved water quality”.
“We’re now just one of two EU member states benefitting from the nitrates derogation. We’ve just over one year left to run before the current derogation expires.
“At present, almost half of our water bodies are not meeting the Water Framework Directive’s 2027 target of having all water bodies in at least good ecological status.
“I accept that there are multiple causes for that, of course there are. But our sector has to do what it can to make a positive contribution to that,” he said.
Gleeson urged farm bodies and industry representatives to encourage their members to join the new €60 million Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP).
Image: Don Moloney
Gleeson also said that Bord Bia is working with its Technical Advisory Committees and Quality Assurance (QA) board members to ensure its QA schemes “reflect the importance of protecting and improving water quality”.
“I know that those are usually difficult discussions and usually they end up in a balanced outcome that’s generally correct. Nevertheless, it’s important to be ambitious in terms of advancing the case for the renewal of the derogation,” he said.
One farmer at the AGM asked if a “yellow card” system could be introduced for farmers found to be non-compliant on water quality, rather than being “thrown out” of derogation for two years.
Gleeson said that he has “a great deal of sympathy” for farmers who find themselves in this situation.
“However, I’m in a position where I have to consider the sector as a whole. We’re in a position now where we’re looking for a renewal of the nitrates derogation.
“If we don’t enforce the rules of the existing system effectively it would send a pretty negative signal to the commission,” he said.
Gleeson said that there has been “well- publicised circumstances” where people “completely flouted the rules”.
“I think the people who are most angry about that are other farmers,” he said.
CAP
While there are many immediate challenges facing the Irish farming sector, such as the nitrates derogation, Gleeson said that it is important to keep “a strategic focus” on the longer term.
This includes building a relationship with the new EU Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen, along with other EU commissioners and minister from other member states.
The meeting heard that the department has already turned its attention to the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post 2027.
Gleeson said that climate change and environmental degradation are “not going away anytime soon and neither is the significant environmental focus in the CAP”.
He said that what farmers might appreciate when it comes to the next CAP is “a period of stability and consistency, with some simplification”.
Gleeson added that if farmers want a strong CAP budget it is going to have to be “pretty green”.
Closer to home, the meeting heard that DAFM will begin work next year on a new agri-food strategy to replace Food Vision 2030.