It\u2019s beyond time this government takes the blinkers off and prepares for a future without the nitrates derogation for farmers, according to Social Democrats environment spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore.<\/p>\n
Deputy Whitmore said:<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, Ireland will present its case for renewal of the derogation to the EU’s Nitrates Committee \u2013 an application that, ultimately, looks doomed to failure.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to the Environmental Protection Agency, nitrate levels in our rivers have jumped by a staggering 16 percent in the first six months of the year. This is disastrous for our water quality and biodiversity.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoupled with this, the government must demonstrate compliance with the EU Habitats Directive to retain the derogation \u2013 a new qualification criteria that will be incredibly difficult to meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeaking yesterday, Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin said retention of the nitrates derogation is the “number one” priority in terms of farming in this country. It was a telling remark, because the future of farming is not contingent on the derogation. The real priority should be moving away from practises that harm the environment and towards a sustainable model of farming.<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland is now the only EU member state applying for a further extension of the derogation \u2013 with a decision expected at the end of December. Other EU countries which had the derogation have conceded it is incompatible with efforts to protect our rivers, lakes and the life they sustain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the sole focus of the government on retention of a derogation that is destroying water quality and harming our biodiversity, farmers are again being led to a cliff edge. The government is not willing to even accept the possibility of a rejected application and is therefore not putting any \u2018Plan B\u2019 in place.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the derogation application ends in failure, what supports will be available to farmers whose entire business model is dependent on it? So far, the government has refused to tell us. This is reckless and inexcusable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government should never have sought this extension in the first place, but the pressing issue now is ensuring there is an alternative plan in place, to support farmers, if its application fails.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Agriculture Minister must now clarify if any such planning has taken place and outline a list of supports that will be made immediately available to farmers if its application is turned down.<\/p>\n
\u201cFarmers and rural communities must not be led off a cliff by a government that refuses to plan for contingencies.\u201d<\/p>\n
September 19th, 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s beyond time this government takes the blinkers off and prepares for a future without the nitrates derogation for farmers, according to Social Democrats environment spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore said: \u201cToday, Ireland will present its case for renewal of the derogation to the EU’s Nitrates Committee \u2013 an application that, ultimately, looks doomed to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[517,727,268,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biodiversity","category-environment","category-jennifer-whitmore","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n