Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The recent interview with the Minister for agriculture demonstrated everything that is wrong with the Government's approach to agriculture and climate change. When he was asked about the nitrates derogation, the Minister was clear. He said he was not even contemplating a scenario in which Ireland loses its derogation. How can a Minister proudly declare he is not going to plan for what is a very likely outcome? We all know that agricultural run-off is primarily responsible for damaging water quality and biodiversity. It is a reality the Government needs to face up to. We have more evidence today from another EPA report that found water quality remains in crisis. It found that there has been no overall improvement in water quality despite efforts having been made, and time is running out to fix this. The Taoiseach knows the derogation cannot last, so why is his Government pretending otherwise? Denying reality and leading farmers to a cliff edge again will only devastate more family farms.

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