Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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450. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government further to the current review of the nitrates directive and the derogation the pig production industry has from phosphates levels, whether this derogation will remain in place until the review is completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41308/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2014, as amended, give legal effect in Ireland to the Nitrates Directive and to our Nitrates Action Programme (NAP). The objective of the Regulations is to protect ground and surface waters, including drinking water sources, primarily through the management of livestock manures and other fertilisers.

The arrangement in Ireland's Nitrates Action Programme, as negotiated with the European Commission, whereby the intensive sectors (pig, poultry and mushroom composts) were allowed to apply manures in excess of crop requirement, expired at the end of 2016. The arrangement was put in place in 2006 to assist the industry to comply with the regulations and has been moving the industry towards full compliance over the intervening 10 years. However, in order to allow time for all possible options to be explored during the forthcoming Nitrates Action Programme review, pig slurry imported in the closed period from 2017 and not applied by the year-end will be treated as inventory for application in the following year rather than being considered as applied in the year of importation.

My Department, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, has commenced the process of review of the Nitrates Action Programme prior to formal engagement with the European Commission with a view to having a new Nitrates Action Programme in place by 2018 to run up to 2021. A request for a new nitrates derogation will be submitted to the Commission as part of the review process. A full consultation process will be carried out in early 2017 as part of this review and any issues raised by stakeholders will be considered as part of that process.