Nitrates Derogation: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-28 ============================================================ Victor Boyhan (IND), Agricultural Panel I welcome the Minister and his official to the Seanad and acknowledge the important work his fellow Ministers and Ministers of State and the departmental staff have done. I have no doubt an enormous amount of work went into it and it is an amazing achievement for the Minister. It is also an amazing political achievement. There were many critics and I sat and listened to many of them, and to other people who came to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food, of which a number of us here are members too. Now is not a time for complacency. It is a reprieve, to an extent. The year 2028 is not a long way away, and that is important. In his measured statement here today, the Minister has indicated that we have work to do. We have to embrace this opportunity and move forward. I congratulate the Minister and the Government on their success on this matter to date. Ireland's success has been to secure the extension of the EU nitrates directive. Of course, this is subject to strict environmental conditions to combat water pollution, and rightly so. We never denied there were challenges. We realised there were issues and there were improvements but it was always going to be challenging and the Minister has acknowledged that. There is no point in painting over some of the issues in relation to our water and water pollution. However, water pollution comes in many forms and it does not only rest with agriculture. This is an important point that came out very clearly from our debate on these matters. The key conditions attached to the Irish nitrates derogation are worth going over at some level. We are reducing stocking rates, which is important. We are also reducing the use of fertiliser and increasing buffer zones, as the Minister mentioned in his statement. There is also the manure and nutrient management scheme and enhanced requirements for nutrient management. That goes right across the scheme in terms of better education, knowledge transfer, better practices, derogation farms, increasing buffer zones, water courses and all that goes with that. There is a lot of knowledge in it. Farming is not some sort of a hobby for people. It is a science now. It is technical. I was down at the River Slaney coming through Enniscorthy the day before yesterday with the floods and what was interesting coming all the way down was the colour, the brown soil. The water was brown. It was dark. I was then in Bunclody, and again, I could literally see the leaching. It just struck me that at this time of the year it would not have the same challenges but what if there were nutrients and if that was later on in the year? On the loss of nutrients, and effluent for that matter, that comes from heavy drenching of soil, it is a science and I do not think everyone quite understands that. That is important to say. Stricter protocols and earlier closing dates for the spreading of chemical fertiliser and slurry are critical in terms of management of this derogation. That is an important point. As for compliance and inspections, we cannot back off with them and no-one is suggesting we do. The Minister is not suggesting that either. My understanding is the Minister secured this nitrates directive derogation with conditions. It was hard fought for. It was not a walk or rollover. He had to make a science-based case for it. He had to talk about sustainability and a plan going forward over the next two or three years, running into 2028. He did that and he convinced people, and that is important. He secured the unanimous vote of the EU member states to extend Ireland's nitrates directive for a further three years but three years is not a long way away. It is important that we acknowledge that and the key success of it. It struck me as the Minister was talking at the time - he worked with us on the committee as well - about key issues like farm certainty. That was really important. That three-year extension provides a vital period for dairy livestock farmers to prevent cliff-edge reduction and to allow stocking rates. That is a challenge, however, and we are going to have to work on it. The Minister emphasised the scientific validation of the argument, which convinced people. He went to Europe and made a professional case. He got it over the line. I believe the scientific validation was really important, and particularly the emphasis on the sustainable grass-based outdoor production model that is unique to Ireland. He impressed the people on that. That was important. The deal, of course, addresses specific scientific and environmental conditions, including the catchment levels, but also acknowledges our responsibilities in relation to the habitats directive. Again, farmers are responsible. They are the custodians of the land. That cliche is thrown out every day, but they are. They have a vested interest. They have a huge interest. It is a livelihood and a family. They have an intergenerational asset that they want to secure and within which they want to have a future. I have talked about the conditions that are there. Under this extension, there will, of course, be stricter mandated conditions for farmers in the coming years. That is an important point and is one that we need to prepare for. The Minister’s Department needs to prepare for it. It needs to resource and that is an important point. As for the increased compliance, the Minister is on the record as saying his Department will begin intensive in-house catchment-based assessments on environmental impacts. The Minister might touch on that as he concludes. This agreement is a significant body of work, and I genuinely mean that. I want to acknowledge the enormous work. It was not easy. It was not a fait accompli . It went to the wire; it went to the end. In the Minister’s final speech, he talked about two points. He said the Government is providing financial support for farmers, going beyond the registered requirements to improve water quality. That is important. It is an incentive that will encourage people. I would like to hear a little bit more about that or how he wants the timeline to run in that. He stated it is vital that we now use the next three years wisely to drive the improvements we need to see in our water quality, by maintaining a further building of the momentum that now exists across the sector and that securing the derogation has given us an opportunity and we must embrace the opportunity. I concur 100%. We cannot take our eye off the ball. Time will run fast. There is an onus to further upskill people, engage in knowledge transfer and keep the focus. Despite what some people say, the EPA is not the bogeyman. It has a job to do. It has statutory functions. It has responsibilities in relation to water quality. It is important that we work with the EPA. Farmers want to work with the EPA but we need to grant assist and support, because if we can address this issue we are going to protect the future sustainability of rural communities, farmers and farming communities, and that is important. It is about sustainable agriculture, food production and income for rural families. That is important. I thank the Minister and wish him well on what is going to be a long journey to keep this momentum going. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-28/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:33+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-01-28