Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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56. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the status of the ongoing review of the nitrates directive; the measures his Department can take as part of this review to provide greater flexibility, reduced penalties and more workable regulations for farmers under this directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33391/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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In accordance with the Nitrates Directive, Ireland’s Nitrates Action Programme is due for review this year. Negotiations with the European Commission with a view to having a revised Nitrates Action Programme in place by the end of 2017 have commenced.

As part of the review, a full public consultation process was undertaken and this closed on 3 May 2017. All submissions received on foot of this consultation are currently being given full consideration by an expert group comprising officials from my Department, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Teagasc and the Environmental Protection Agency.

It would be inappropriate to anticipate any outcomes of the review process in advance of its conclusion.