Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 8 October 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food

Supports for Private Advisory Providers Delivering Advice on Nitrates and Water Quality Improvements: Agricultural Consultants Association

2:00 am

Mr. Tom Canning:

Absolutely. That is correct. All farmers must declare their closing stock on midnight of 14 September by 15 October. That deadline is coming up very quickly. At the moment, we are finding that merchants are not, in all cases, recording the fertiliser purchases until the end of the year. We have to look at that and not take it at face value. We have to look at the receipts and the invoices that a farmer has for his fertiliser purchases to ensure that he does not go over those limits. It is not updated in real time.