Mr. Jack Nolan:

The Deputy asked about slurry being applied to arable crops in the autumn. If I went out tomorrow after the harvest and shallow cultivated a bare stubble, up to 50 kg of nitrogen per hectare is taken out of the soil by weeds. As Mr. Harris mentioned earlier, there is a concern in the Barrow and Slaney catchment, which is primarily tillage, that up to 30% of nitrogen in the water is coming from the arable sector. Is it best practice to be applying slurry to crops at that time of year? It is part of the review process, but the logic behind it is that the crop has died off early and nitrogen is available there. Putting out more nitrogen at that time when a crop does not necessarily need it can lead to lush growth in crops which will need more fungicide than they should or it can be lost to waters.

However, there are some lands where slurry could be applied and taken up. Something like poultry manure is like rocket fuel for crops and will drive it very far forward. That should really only be used in August when there will be considerable growth and uptake. I understand what the Deputy and Mr. Cullinan have said. It is being considered as part of the review.