Committee hearing on nitrates directive:TDs and Senators have demanded to see the advice the farm advisory body Teagasc gave the Government before the controversial limits on the use of nitrates and phosphates on farms were drawn up.
Members of the Oireachtas Environment Committee claimed yesterday that the scientific advice from the farm body might have suggested that less strict regulations would have been acceptable.
But instead, Minister for the Environment Dick Roche had produced new anti-pollution regulations to control the use of fertilisers and animal manure which could do severe damage to Irish farmers.
The regulations came into force last week, almost 15 years after the EU first agreed the nitrates directive to control water pollution from agriculture. They follow intense pressure on the Government to act to control water pollution caused by animal waste and fertilisers. The European Court of Justice found against Ireland on the issue in 2004, and heavy fines were feared unless action was taken.
However, farmers say Mr Roche's action plan is too strict and will cause a crisis for many farmers. As a result of pressure from the farm lobby, the limits on the use of phosphates - largely resulting from pig and poultry farming - have been suspended pending a review by Teagasc of its scientific advice on the issue.
John Sadlier, Department of the Environment, told the committee that Teagasc had offered to review its scientific advice and the regulations could possibly be amended. There would be no implementation of the phosphates limits "pending clarification, which I hope will be in a matter of weeks". He said the Government was separately seeking agreement from the European Commission to a derogation from the other controversial aspect of the regulations - limits on the use of nitrates. The regulations agreed with the commission allow for a nitrate level that would be produced by about 2.5 cattle per hectare.
The Government proposes to seek a revised limit allowing around three cattle per hectare, a concession of value to large-scale dairy farmers.
"We will not be granted a derogation while this [ the phosphates issue] is open," Mr Sadlier said.
Fine Gael's Fergus O'Dowd said there seemed to be a range of views on how severe the regulations needed to be. "It is alleged that the department is putting the maximum restrictions on farmers," he said, while a Teagasc representative had said on RTÉ's Prime Time programme that a less restrictive regime could have been applied.
Chairman of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee Johnny Brady, who attended the meeting, said the regulations would have a serious impact on the pig and poultry sector and on large dairy farmers. "These people are in serious trouble and they are very important people in the economy of this country."
Ned O'Keeffe said this was "the greatest crisis in Irish agriculture".
Dr Séamus Cross of Teagasc denied his organisation was divided. Their role had been to provide the Departments of the Environment and of Agriculture with advice, and "we provided the best scientific advice we could. The values in the regulations are not Teagasc's values."
Labour's Éamon Gilmore said the issue of water pollution was not new.
He said these regulations had been coming since 1991, Ireland had been before the European Court of Justice, and the Oireachtas committee had discussed the issue a year ago.
Dr Cross said he would ask the Teagasc director if the advice could be made available, and he himself had "no problem" in making it available.
The Green Party's Ciarán Cuffe said that over the years the Department of Agriculture and Teagasc had "pushed farmers into using high energy fertiliser". Now there was a turnaround.