Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also have a couple of questions which I put to the representatives of the EPA when they were before the committee. The first is for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage officials. This issue was raised with me by a frustrated farmer who is abiding by all the conditions. His land abuts the road and there is a stream going through it. The local authority rocked up and started shoring the water directly from the road into the watercourse or stream. Is there any directive from the Department to local authorities or any policy on avoidance of that scenario in the future? The representatives of the EPA confirmed that they have encountered and discovered numerous issues in watercourses and streams that they could track back to water run-off.

The final question is for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine officials. Again, it seeks an explanation. With regard to the prohibited slurry spreading periods, do they think we are getting the maximum mitigation or value from a calendar-based prohibited period? As I said in the last session, the reason I ask is that our climate seems to have changed. We are told we cannot spread slurry during the months of October, November and December. They could be the three driest months of the year and there could be a wet spell in January, but the farmers are back out because they have no choice. I acknowledge what the officials said about getting the maximum growth quality and maximum return from slurry, but there could be a situation where the capacity is full to the brim and the farmer has to get some out. Has the Department done any surveys or has it any results on what would be the maximum mitigation process for prohibited periods? Is there any way it could be done based on ground conditions rather than just a date on the calendar, when we have no idea what the weather and ground conditions are going to be during that period? It might be safer for our water to spread slurry on dry land during large portions of that period rather than having to spread it the minute the prohibited period is over due to capacity issues, when land conditions could be at their worst for the acceptance of slurry.