Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 42: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the status of the nitrates action plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37695/05]

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 50: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the status of the application for a derogation to the nitrates directive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37694/05]

Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 56: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the status of the nitrates directive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37717/05]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 67: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food her plans to address concerns raised by pig and poultry producers regarding the nitrates directive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37733/05]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food her plans to address concerns regarding the implementation of the nitrates directive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37727/05]

Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 76: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the status of Ireland's application for a derogation under the nitrates directive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37719/05]

Shane McEntee (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 96: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps she is taking to ensure that the nitrates action plan is implemented in a sensible manner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37714/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 42, 50, 56, 67, 68, 76 and 96 together.

The implementation of the nitrates directive is a matter in the first instance for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Ireland's national action programme was formally submitted to the European Commission in July and regulations giving legal effect to it are being finalised following a consultation process.

Ireland is also proceeding with the case for a derogation designed to allow certain farmers to operate, under appropriate conditions and controls, up to a level of 250 kgs of organic nitrogen per hectare per annum. The derogation proposes to cater for grassland farms. Discussions with the Commission on the derogation are already under way.

While the implementation of the action programme will certainly have implications for farmers, I have taken important measures to alleviate the impact on the sector. I have announced proposals for a revised farm waste management scheme for which EU approval is now being sought. The improved scheme will increase the grant rate for both animal housing and slurry storage from the current rate of 40% to 60%, with 70% being available in some counties.

Other elements of the scheme will include significantly higher investment ceilings, the extension of the scheme to sectors such as pigs and poultry and the removal of any minimum income requirement from farming from the scheme. I hope early approval of the scheme will be forthcoming from the European Commission so that it can be introduced quickly. I also intend to introduce a scheme to support the demonstration of new technologies to help the agriculture sector meet the requirements of the nitrates directive.

Some concerns have been expressed about the impact of the nitrates directive on the pig and poultry sectors, where many of the larger producers do not have enough land of their own to use the manure that they produce. I am acutely conscious of the need for pig farmers to continue to have adequate spreadlands for pig slurry. I have therefore asked Teagasc to undertake a very active promotion campaign to demonstrate the nutrient value of slurry and the savings that farmers can achieve by substituting it for chemical fertiliser, and I will be urging REPS planners to encourage their clients to use pig manure on their farms. I will also be seeking to ensure that the necessary record-keeping and inspection regimes are kept to what is strictly necessary.