Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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1823. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on a query (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1080/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The practice of Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) is an important environmentally sustainable technology that will facilitate Ireland meeting its environmental commitments through reductions in ammonia and other reactive nitrogen emissions from soil.  

The practice leads to greater nutrient recovery from slurries and indirectly improved nutrient use efficiency, as well as a reduced dependency on chemical fertilisers. 

There is a clear need to meet Ireland's national ammonia ceiling under the National emissions ceiling directive. I am still assessing whether to make the trailing hose available under TAMS III. It important to note that there is an emissions reduction differential between trailing hose and trailing shoe.

To date under TAMS II, 70% of expenditure under LESS was grant aided for trailing hose machines. While each of the LESS options meet nitrate requirements, it is important that the number of trailing shoe units on farms is maximised to help contribute to the agreed 25% reduction in Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions and 5% ammonia reduction from the agriculture sector by 2030. 

To meet the emissions reductions target for both GHGs and ammonia it is necessary for 90% of the slurry produced to be spread using LESS technology by 2030.  It is assumed in these targets that 50% of the slurry will be applied using trailing shoe technology and 50% by trailing hose. In 2020, twice as much slurry was being spread using trailing shoe as opposed to trailing hose, however, with the much greater number of trailing hose machines having already been grant-aided, this balance is at significant risk of being reversed. 

The reduction of emission during slurry spreading is a crucial element in meeting the agricultural emissions reduction targets.

The weight difference between trailing hose attachments and trailing shoe attachments is small, depending upon the design of the attachment.  The lightest trailing hose attachments start at around 410kg, while the lightest trailing shoe attachments start at around 450kg.

It is proposed to increase the funding for LESS from 2023 onwards from 40% to 60% for applicants which will more than offsets the potential higher cost of the trailing shoe compared to the trailing hose.