In negotiations designed to secure the involvement of farm organisations in the new National Agreement, "Sustaining Progress", the Coalition Government has held out the prospect of moderating the effects of EU regulations on pollution control.
Its approach, in view of fish kills and toxic algal blooms, has been dishonest and harmful. Twelve years ago, an EU Directive required all Member States to set limits on the spreading of slurry and fertilisers on farmland in order to protect water quality. But Ireland is the only state not to have done so.
Two years ago, under pressure from the European Commission, the former Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, promised to designate nitrate-vulnerable zones so that remedial programmes could be undertaken to improve water quality. But, with a general election in the offing and farming organisations objecting, nothing happened. Now, with the European Commission threatening to withhold up to €500 million in farm support payments if action is not taken, his successor, Mr Cullen has to make hard decisions.
There has been a loss of patience in Brussels at Irish behaviour. Threats by Environment Commissioner, Margot Wallstrom, to take Ireland to the Court of Justice in Luxembourg for failing to protect water quality were ignored by the Government. But Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler has now sought details of the remedial measures proposed and a timescale for their implementation. Payment of EU farm subsidies will, he said, be conditional on an early and appropriate response.
The Government has indicated the entire State will be designated as a single unit under the Nitrates Directive. And a formal decision is expected in June. This will require the establishment of maximum animal stocking levels; a ban on the spreading of slurry and fertilisers at certain times of the year, and limits on their amount. Estimates by Teagasc suggest that between four and five thousand intensive farms will be affected if stocking rates are limited to one cow per acre. As for the slurry produced, the Government has told farmers it will seek a derogation from the spreading limit established under the Directive. Such an approach is unlikely to be fruitful, however, given Ireland's record.
It is an indictment of the Coalition Government that reform in this area is being forced upon it by the European Commission. Enlightened self-interest should have led to action long before now. Our tourist and hospitality industry requires an image of a clean, unpolluted Ireland, while ordinary citizens expect protection from any economic interest that abuses the environment. Inland and coastal waters are already seriously affected by agricultural pollution. Tough, remedial action must be taken.