There is a depressing familiarity to the latest clash between the Irish Farmers’ Association and the Government over regulations to protect and restore our environment. The specifics of the current dispute, about a revision of Ireland’s partial derogation (exemption) from the EU’s Nitrates Directive, are complex. The aim of the directive is to improve water quality, which is damaged by nitrates from agricultural sources, industries, and poor sewage treatment. Excessive nitrates feed algal “blooms”, clogging waterways, damaging fish populations and recreational activities.
The directive restricts dairy farmers to 92 cows per 50 hectares, but Ireland’s derogation has hitherto permitted 135 cows for that unit. The revision now agreed between the Minister for Agriculture and the EU reduces the allowance to 120. For farmers on marginal incomes, 15 cows less can be a breaking point. As the IFA argues, it will increase demand for land, pushing prices beyond the reach of farmers who need to expand to maintain stock. Their voices must be heard.
And yet, as the Environmental Protection Agency has repeatedly shown, the quality of water in our rivers and estuaries fails to meet EU targets. This harms health, rural communities and businesses dependent on aquatic recreation, and damages our biodiversity. The IFA challenges the EPA’s water mapping methodology, while environmental groups argue, more convincingly, that the relationship between agricultural intensification and water pollution is evident. The “polluter pays” principle applies to agriculture as to any other sector. But its application should be underpinned by recognition that government policy has driven the intensification of agriculture.
These recurring disputes can only be resolved by a transformation of agricultural strategy, in which farmers are rewarded for protecting and restoring the environment as a common good. That will also require farming lobbies to abandon short-term rhetoric, and show leadership and vision in helping their members make this very challenging but essential transition.