Dr. Elaine McGoff:

That is a good question. It is interesting because Ms Duggan and I have just worked together on a campaign on hen harriers. I very much have a foot in both camps. An Taisce always says we care very much about wild birds and we also care about water quality. It is an interesting conundrum. My knowledge on tillage and water quality is not as good as it is on pasture farming. My understanding is there are benefits to putting cover crops in, depending on the timing and depending on how quickly one gets them in the ground. There are an awful lot of complications regarding whether the land is suitable to go out and plant. I note this year was particularly bad.

Regarding how to square the circle, I think you just bring it back to science. Look at the areas of the catchment where the EPA has identified high potential areas for losing nitrate. If the tillage area is in one of those areas, then is it also incredibly important for birds? You need to have all the information in front of you, weigh up the pros and cons, look at what the law states – the habitats directive and the birds directive are very clear about having to protect these species – and go from there. As Ms Duggan outlined, it seems as if they put this measure in place, which is positive for water quality, but without even considering the impact on the birds, which is not good. If we are making this decision, we need to do it with our eyes wide open, with an eye to the science and an eye to the law. I do not have a solution other than we need more information.