Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2017 give legal effect in Ireland to the Nitrates Directive and to our Nitrates Action Programme (NAP). The Regulations focus, inter alia,on the management of livestock manures and other fertilisers.

In accordance with the requirements of these regulations, all fertilisers should be stored and managed in a responsible manner to ensure the protection of water quality. The Regulations do not specify distances in relation to spreading fertiliser in proximity to dwellings. In order to protect water quality, however, they do include provisions regarding the required distances for spreading organic fertiliser from a surface watercourse, a borehole and a spring or well used for the abstraction of water for human consumption.

Local authorities, under the supervision of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are the authorities charged with the monitoring and enforcement of these regulations.