Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree wholeheartedly. The vast majority of farmers have a great duty of care to the environment. Farmers who are unclear as to whether their tanks contain slurry or soil water should contact their local authorities. Going forward, farmers should prioritise emptying their slurry storage facilities as early in the growing season as possible. That is a practical measure. It will boast economic benefits for farmers as well as water quality benefits. The requirement to spread slurry at this stage of the year is avoidable with efficient management.

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, recently raised the matter of slurry storage and management with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, and asked him and his officials in the Department to continue to promote the early application of slurry to avoid such slurry storage capacity issues and to encourage farmers to put adequate slurry storage in place.

The Senator mentioned the local authorities. There are not enough officers in local authorities to deal with this issue. Some provisions in budget 2024 aim to help to rectify that situation. It is critically important that local authorities are the contact here. It is important that the responsible farmers the Senator is talking about, who want to do the right thing, have the right advice and the flexibility to manage their slurry in a sustainable way.