Results 1-9 of 9 for epa segment:8848273

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Feb 2024)

...and the European Commission must acknowledge that the range of new actions undertaken by farmers will require time to be implemented. In advance of the next negotiations, the Government should prepare a strong science-based document, with EPA input, similar to the marginal abatement cost curve, MACC, for greenhouse gas emissions. A compelling case is needed for the European Commission....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Feb 2024)

...and forestry consultants, with a further 200-plus people employed as administration and technical staff. The ACA represents 90% of private agricultural consultants and advisers in Ireland. Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine statistics indicate that our members provide advisory support services to more than 55,000 farmers nationally. With regard to the specific six...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Feb 2024)

...to try to comply with these demands, the harder it is. I am very concerned that people will burst at some stage and say, "We have had enough of this." We have to look at the fact that the EPA has been very strong on what farmers should do and what they are failing to do, but we see Uisce Éireann getting ten years to sort out the water problems. That still has not got to where it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Feb 2024)

.... One of the biggest problems we have is slurry spreading over the closed period. Because the nutrients are not absorbed by the growing crop, it is not growing and taking up the nutrients. The EPA recognises that as the greatest risk. We need to address that by improving the slurry storage facilities and future-proofing it as well in terms of what Teagasc is promoting. The indications...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Feb 2024)

...are no longer low, construction costs have rocketed and the TAMS system is broken. How can we expect low-income beef and suckler farmers to invest in additional storage when their income is not enough to cover repayments? The ICSA believes that it is time for the Minister to take on board the recommendations of the agriculture water quality group to increase the rate of grant for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Feb 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: ...we went out to Europe was that there was a major pushback against agriculture, against people producing food. We sent over the perfect bullet to shoot us with. That is the totality of what the EPA went over with. As Mr. Canning stated, no one talks about the glass being half full, though, and more than 50% of our water is of a very high or good standard. In the witnesses’ views,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Feb 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: ...the rights or is the ACA charged? We all need to come together on this. Whatever bit of information he, I or someone else has, we need to collaborate. Is that possible at the moment? Is the Department working with the ACA? I listened with interest to Mr. Canning. Did he say that even we can, for example, sow different grasses and do all the different things? In fairness to every...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Feb 2024)

Mr. Tom Canning: The difficulty with the EPA approach is the management is of a catchment area. If we take a large catchment where one or two farmers do not cause a problem as regards nutrient loss, it will not be reflected in the whole catchment area. It would be possible that 90% of the farmers comply with the regulations and for there still to be a problem with water quality. A number...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Feb 2024)

Mr. Eddie Punch: We had considerable engagement with the EPA in 2023 on a whole range of issues, including climate, peatlands, global warming potential, GWP,* and so on. We also had considerable engagement with it on the agricultural water quality working group on water issues. When we engage on a one-to-one basis, the EPA seems to be open to considering all the issues we bring up. Our...