Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 96: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the role her Department has in assisting farmers to comply with terms of the nitrates directive. [12175/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I have outlined previously the various measures put in place by my Department to assist farmers in meeting their obligations under the nitrates directive. The Sustaining Progress agreement included a number of commitments related to the nitrates directive and these have all been delivered in the form of improvements to the farm waste management scheme and the dairy hygiene scheme and substantially increased REPS payments under the REPS 3 scheme.

To help farmers understand the nitrates regulations, my Department placed an advertisement in the farming press and is preparing an explanatory booklet designed to explain the new rules clearly and simply. This booklet will be sent to all farmers as soon as the issue of fertiliser limits is finalised. In addition, my Department will be making maximum use of information held on its databases to provide farmers with information about their stocking levels and organic nutrient loading.

During the past week I announced details of a revised farm waste management scheme which has now been formally agreed with the European Commission. The revised scheme will inter alia provide for increased rates of aid towards on-farm investment is designed specifically to help farmers meet the requirements of the nitrates directive. Application forms for participation in the scheme are now available in my Department's local AES offices throughout the country and on its website. Applications must be received before 31 December of this year so I strongly urge farmers to take the necessary steps to ensure that their participation in the scheme is not made impossible by late submission of applications.