Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 21 February 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed)

Ms Oonagh Duggan:

It is not a case of either-or. It is a case of working out how we have both and asking how we work on both. What measures can we put in place to, for example, support more farmland birds outside of those areas? Perhaps there are more wild bird cover crops that can be put in other areas.

Maybe there are special types of cover crops that can both resolve the issue of nitrates and work for birds. Maybe we need to make more efforts to ensure we know what is happening with hen harriers as juveniles and what measures we need in that regard. It is looking at the broad picture. I really-----