Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a really important issue. The nitrates derogation is critically important, not just for our 7,000 derogation farmers, many of whom are in County Tipperary, but for our overall rural economy and for all elements of agriculture. It comes down to land availability and many other measures. This has been a top priority for me since I became Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I attended the meeting of a couple of thousand of farmers in Fermoy on Monday night. I will meet with Commissioner Roswall, who has accepted my invitation to visit Ireland later this week. I have met with her in Brussels previously. I have met with her officials in Brussels and in Ireland when they visited previously. We brought them out to farms and I will bring Commissioner Roswall to a derogation farm as well when she visits to show her first-hand the great work our farmers are doing in terms of the higher standards they are operating to for water quality.

As we reach the endgame of our negotiations, all of this is to try to have an extension of our derogation and get a new derogation beyond the end of this year because our current one falls at that point. We have the habitats directive to address, as well as water quality. That is a very onerous undertaking and we are putting detailed proposals to the Commission right now to get the best possible outcome agreed for our farmers.

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