Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Friday, 15 September 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Ireland's Water Quality and the Nitrates Derogation: Discussion

Mr. Bill Callanan:

I always caution that effort and impact are not the same in terms of some of the work we do. We are doing actions, and farmers are doing actions, on the assumption that we are looking to reduce the load. As has been pointed out, it is a question of the load, how it is transferred to water and how it is seen in the water. In terms of the focus, where there is additionality we have increased the derogation inspection rate. We also have 42 advisers in the areas. They are not derogation-focused, just to be clear. They are focused on farming within prioritised areas for action. That has come out of collaboration with ourselves at the local authority waters programme, LAWPRO, in terms of understanding where those resources should be applied. I refer to the likes of the best measures. Specific to derogation farmers, they are required to do a certain level of training annually to increase their understanding. We are also increasing the education of advisers to better connect the rules. I refer not to their understanding of what the rules are, but to their understanding of why the rules are there, in order that they can connect them. That is part of the education process to bring advisers up to speed. They will then translate that onto farms, so we are very much working with farmers.

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