Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is not really a funny matter for people who are trying to contend with the wet weather that has made it impossible to spread slurry in an environmentally-friendly fashion. The situation is that the deadline will not be extended. A decision has been made that there will be no blanket derogation sought from the EU. At this juncture, there are farmers in parts of the country who will not make the deadline. There is an exceptional circumstances procedure whereby if animal welfare is in question, farmers can make a case for a derogation of sorts.Exceptional circumstances would be, for example, where animals are about to be housed and a holding tank for slurry is about to overflow, with environmental consequences. In the next few days, these farmers need to contact the district veterinary office in their county and make their situation known, that they will not be able to meet the deadline due to the weather and other circumstances. It is very important that farmers move on it now in order that they will not be in a catch-22 situation in which they have a full slurry holding tank, they cannot spread the slurry and they have animals they are trying to house. Their animals will be in a desperate situation and there will potentially be other environmental consequences if slurry tanks overflow. It is a very important issue for farmers in particular parts of the country.