Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy Kehoe is aware, we have a meeting with the environment Commissioner tomorrow. We are meeting the Taoiseach and the water quality monitoring group that I set up specifically on the issue of the implementation of our derogation. It is a challenging situation in terms of the adjustment for farmers who would have been between 220 kg and 250 kg of nitrogen for their stocking rate.

My objective from the outset has been to work to try to support those farmers and to give clarity as early as I possibly could. We fought to get the best derogation we could two years ago. Part of that involved a mid-term review, whereby by the end of June this year, if certain areas of the country did not meet certain water improvement thresholds, the maximum derogation available in those areas under the derogation decision we got from other member states would drop from 250 kg of nitrogen to 220 kg. That was a real risk from the start of the derogation we secured. Unfortunately, when the water quality data was clarified at the end of June, it meant a number of areas were going to move to 220 kg under the derogation.

I then engaged with farming representatives and stakeholders and made a submission to the EU Commission seeking to delay the decision and seeking extra time. I met the Commissioner in early September and he was very clear with me it was not possible to change the derogation decision and to go back to other member states to get that change so that we could keep the 250 kg rate for longer, but they would engage with us to see what flexibilities there might be around the existing decision. Through September our teams engaged around the map that we published at the end of June to see what flexibility there might be. We got some additional flexibility, which meant more areas could stay at the 250 kg rate. We then published the map online at the end of September for farmers to be able to individually assess and clarify their own situation.

Throughout the process we have continued to engage with the Commission around any potential flexibilities there might be. Both the Taoiseach and I invited the Commissioner and we look forward to meeting with him tomorrow. Knowing the impact this has for farmers, I have been clear and honest at all times with regard to the situation facing us and I communicated that as early as I could to farmers while continuing to see what potential there might be. I know the Commissioner will clarify his position further tomorrow on the situation, which they have been communicating to us. It is very positive that he is coming to visit.

The move to 220 kg has a real impact. It is also important to be clear that we have a collective challenge to make sure we get the derogation renewed again at the end of 2025. As part of this derogation, which was renewed at the start of 2022, the Commission was actually seeking a lower threshold than the 220 kg at the mid-point review. That shows the challenge we have and the absolute imperative, not just from the point of view of improving water quality, which we all collectively are working to do, but also the importance of improving water quality to make sure we keep the derogation. It is important the Commissioner is here tomorrow. He will be meeting directly with farm representatives and all the stakeholders as well. It is also an opportunity for us to emphasise to him the importance of the derogation to Ireland and the importance to our dairy sector in particular of maintaining it and having it renewed when it comes up for renewal in 18 months' time.