IFA seeks to defer introduction of Nitrates regulations

IRELAND - The Minister for the Environment is being asked by the IFA to defer the introduction of the Nitrates regulations until a proper scientific evaluation takes place.

IFA President Padraig Walshe stressed that no responsible Government would proceed with the introduction of such “damaging“ legislation based on “inadequate and flawed science“.

He warned that the damage to agriculture would be irreversible, affecting the livelihoods and viability of thousands of farmers.

“The regulations would decimate the pig and poultry sectors and reverse years of progress and best practice on the country’s dairy and beef farms, as well as imposing severe restrictions on thousands of farmers already in REPS,“ he stressed.

The IFA President accused the Department of the Environment of pursuing a hidden agenda to eliminate the country’s best farmers. He added that the Department of Agriculture had failed to provide the necessary technical data which would have avoided the mess we now find ourselves in.

Mr Walshe noted that the farming community was incensed by the Government’s persistence with this blunt instrument in the absence of proper science or real measurements of water quality.

“Water quality in Ireland is amongst the best in Europe. This was confirmed by the most recent EPA Water Quality Report which showed that of 301 sites tested, 98% met or were better than the EU standard. The Department of the Environment in its determination to penalise farmers have completely overlooked this reality,“ he said.

Source: Roscommon Herald
calendar icon 2 February 2006
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