Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 14 September 2022
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion
Mr. David Flynn:
It is a valuable fertiliser so I think there will be a demand for it. There is a demand for it at the moment.
Let me finish my earlier point. I do not believe there has ever been a suggestion by the Department or anyone that farmers are solely to blame. River basin management plans show there is a range of issues, including wastewater. I said in my opening statement that agriculture is tied to a thousand water bodies but that there are 208 with issues tied to wastewater treatment.
We have been fair. In terms of attributing pollution and its causes, the data presented by the EPA and the Department are clear.