Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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55. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason farmers in Northern Ireland can spread slurry for the entire year depending on ground conditions and weather in view of the fact that the entire island has similar land and weather conditions; the reason farmers here do not have the same conditions (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45090/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, 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 Nitrates Directive requires all member states to define set periods when the land application of fertiliser, including slurry, is not allowed and in Ireland the closed season commenced on 15 October.

The closed periods in Ireland were decided following extensive consultation and were discussed with farming bodies and the European Commission when Ireland’s Nitrates Action Programme was introduced.  The provisions of the Regulations are underpinned by scientific research and good agricultural practice. The most recent scientific studies carried out on a diverse range of farm and soil types as part of the on-going Agricultural Catchments Programme run by Teagasc has provided further evidence in support of the efficacy of the current closed periods in reducing nutrient losses to waters. A key message from the research is that there are disproportionately high nutrient losses to waters during the winter and the current closed period coincides with the time during which risks of incidental nutrient losses to water are highest. Farmers are advised to spread slurry early in the season when growth and nutrient uptake are at their peak.

Ireland is currently negotiating a new NAP with the European Commission and, while we are now at a critical juncture in those negotiations, I am hopeful of a positive outcome. Each member state's negotiations with the Commission take account of the particular circumstances in the individual member state and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the details of the Nitrates Action Programme in Northern Ireland or in any other member state.