Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 63: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason guidelines are not being made available to the farmers affected in view of the fact that the nitrates directive is now law; if an explanation will be given to farmers as to their position in law; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5968/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The implementation of the nitrates directive is a matter in the first instance for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Minister recently made regulations giving legal effect to Ireland's national action programme under the directive. It is now important for farmers to be given as much accurate information as possible about where they stand legally and about the practical implications of the regulations.

A good deal of recent comment and speculation has been selective, and indeed misleading, and has only led to greater confusion among farmers. As a first step towards clearing up that confusion, my Department has placed advertisements in the farming press explaining the main provisions of the regulations in clear and straightforward terms. A handbook is being finalised and will be sent to every farmer as soon as possible. Officials of my Department have already had discussions with Teagasc about arrangements for the delivery of information which will further help farmers to understand the practical aspects of the new regulations.

The position of farmers with regard to the nitrates regulations is that the regulations came into law on 1 February. The organic nitrogen limit of 170 kg organic nitrogen per hectare per year applies from that date, although my Department is in negotiations with the Commission on derogation arrangements for more intensive farmers. The rules about record keeping, about soil and weather conditions for spreading fertiliser and manure and the rules about buffer zones also came into force from 1 February 2006. Prohibited application periods for the spreading of organic and chemical fertilisers come into force on 15 September 2006 for chemical fertiliser and 15 October for organic fertiliser. The manure storage requirements also came into force on 1 February, though in practice farmers have up to 31 December 2008 to comply fully with these. The only exception relates to holdings with more than 100 pigs, which must have 26 weeks' storage in place on 31 December 2006.

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has, however, announced a brief de facto deferral of the implementation of part 3 of the regulations, which deals with nutrient management. These provisions were finalised following difficult negotiations with the Commission's scientific experts, with both Departments making use of the advice provided by Teagasc — though it was the Commission which determined the final content of the regulations. Teagasc has recently indicated that it may be possible to review part of the advice it had given on the application of phosphorus in a way that could improve the effectiveness of the regulations. The Government and the European Commission saw merit in allowing Teagasc time to elaborate this new advice and it is for this reason that the implementation of this part of the regulations has been briefly deferred.

Teagasc has been requested to provide, as a matter of urgency, the necessary scientific case to support any revision of the phosphorus tables in the regulations. The two Departments will carefully consider any submission received from Teagasc while also bearing in mind that any proposals for revision of the phosphorus tables will have to respect the environmental requirements associated with the nitrates directive and meet with the agreement of the European Commission.

Teagasc has not been specifically requested to review its advice on nitrogen issues. However, to the extent that its revised submission on crop nutrient requirements suggests any further beneficial adjustments to the regulatory regime, these will, of course, be considered. The possibility of such further adjustments will also depend on their respecting the environmental requirements involved and on their acceptance by the European Commission.