Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food
Nitrates Derogation: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
2:00 am
Mr. Bill Callanan:
In fairness, it is equally reasonable to assume it is nutrient content and sediment we are looking at in relation to a nitrates action programme, particularly nutrient content, which is really unimpacted by dredging, etc. It is rather about looking at what the flow is from land into watercourses that arise there. The overall action programme is about managing that, making sure farmers are using their slurries most efficiently and there is no leaking from the land into watercourses around the total volume of nutrient, or load, that is arising in agriculture.