Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The nitrates directive aims to protect all waters against pollution from agricultural sources, which includes enhancing the protection of waters being abstracted for human consumption. The European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2005 implement the directive in Ireland and provide statutory support for good agricultural practice to protect waters against pollution from agricultural sources, particularly in the context of implementation of a national nitrates action programme. The regulations include measures such as set periods when land application of fertilisers is prohibited, limits on the land application of fertilisers, storage requirements for livestock manure and monitoring of the effectiveness of the measures in terms of agricultural practice and impact on water quality. In addition to the above, Article 17(2) of the regulations prohibits the application to land of chemical or organic fertilisers within specified distances from drinking water abstraction points. In general the specified distance for larger distribution points is 200 metres and for smaller water supplies is 100 metres. A copy of the regulations is available in the Oireachtas Library.