New GAP regulations to be 'in place' by end of November
New Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters (GAP) regulations are likely to be in place by the end of November, according to the latest update to the Nitrates Expert Group (NEG).
The GAP regulations play a critical role in relation to Ireland's current Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) and derogation, which expires in December 2025.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) the GAP regulations aim to "prevent pollution of surface waters and groundwater from agricultural sources and to protect and improve water quality".
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated that it intends to carry out 4,545 GAP-related farm inspections in 2025 and that these inspections will be "focused in areas where water bodies are significantly impacted by agriculture".
Meanwhile the government has confirmed that it is also currently working with industry "stakeholders" including through the Agriculture Water Quality Working Group, to develop Ireland's sixth NAP which is due to come into operation in January 2026 covering the period 2026-2029.
It is also engaging with the European Commission to ensure that the NAP provides "the assurances it needs" to allow it to put an Implementing decision proposing the "higher nutrient application limit and the associated conditions to a vote of the EU member states".
The sixth NAP is scheduled to be in place by January 1, 2026 and must be operational before a vote on Ireland’s derogation renewal by EU member states can take place.
However the Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall, warned member states earlier this month that it is "critical to invest in measures that reduce nutrient pollution from agriculture".
Commissioner Roswall also said that the European Commission is preparing a Water Resilience Strategy that will be unveiled later this spring.
"There is a lot of EU water legislation in place, but its implementation is lagging.
"To close that gap, I will launch structured dialogues with every EU country to create the political momentum for meaningful change," Commissioner Roswall said.
