Slurry storage planning exemption 'could be delayed to Q4'
A proposed exemption under planning rules for independent slurry storage construction could be delayed until the fourth quarter (Q4) of the year, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has claimed.
The organisation has said that the original timeframe for the implementation of this exemption was the beginning of this year, but that "farmers are now hearing" it could be pushed back to the end of the year.
Eamon Carroll, the ICMSA deputy president, has called on the new ministers of agriculture and housing to "make a concerted effort at getting the promised legislation over the line and into law".
"[The delay] contrasts very sharply with the 'do this immediately' deadlines and timeframes that officials habitually adopt when they are imposing changes on farmers.
"It's very difficult not to notice the difference in tempo and urgency that we see when it comes to the state making a change that benefits farmers, as opposed to making a change that increases the burden on farmers," Carroll said.
He continued: "When the state wants something from farmers, it's happening in a fortnight or in a month or two, or we have a fixed schedule that won't be changed."
Carroll said that some farmers had put slurry storage on hold for the opening of a new grant under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) as the grant and the planning exemption "were meant to go hand-in-hand".
"It's not good enough. We know many farmers who considered expanding slurry storage but delayed, waiting for the exemption from planning permission... We have to get this over the line."
The ICMSA deputy president said that farmers who want to invest in slurry storage for the betterment of water quality have "seen yet another obstacle put in their way".
He called for a "joint and concerted effort" by the two ministers - Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine Martin Heydon, and Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne - to ensure the commitments made on delivering the planning exemption are followed through on.
"Building conditions are best during the later spring and into early autumn period. The suggestion of a delay into Q4 effectively moves any possibility of projects back at least six months to a year," Carroll said.
"If improving water quality is the goal, and the ICMSA certainly thinks it is, then we desperately need to get a move on, and 'admin' obstacles and delays around taking the action on exempting improved slurry storage just have to be dealt with.
"There's no point in talking about keeping up the focus on improving water quality and then allowing the planning permission to just drift along to the end of the year and lose a whole building season," he added.
