The Social Democrats spokesperson on climate said that farmers should be consulted about the “phasing out” of Ireland’s derogation.
Jennifer Whitmore was speaking on RTE Radio One about a European vote that will be held at the end of the year to see if Ireland can maintain its nitrates derogation.
She said that although wastewater treatment is also an issue for water quality, agriculture is the main factor.
“In the 1980s, we would’ve had 500 pristine rivers, now we have about 20, so the condition of our water is very poor and our biodiversity is also in a really dire strait,” she said.
“What we have is a situation where our environment is being heavily impacted by the agriculture system we have in place and it is primarily because of the intensification of dairy.”
Political capital
Whitmore added that Irish politicians are using a lot of their “political capital” to fight for this derogation at a European level for only the approximately 7,000 currently within it [the derogation].
She cited a Danish court case that resulted in the country having to scrap its derogation within three months, leaving many farmers in a tough position financially.
“We’ve seen in other countries where the derogation was abruptly stopped and that left those farmers in absolutely dire straits,” she added.
“There was no plan B, there was no transition for them. What we’re saying is that the Government needs to work with farmers to move to a more sustainable model of farming.”
In response, Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly said that the derogation is much more important to the wider agriculture and agri-food sectors.
“It’s a common myth that this only affects 7,000 farmers. If you do what Jennifer wants in terms of getting rid of the derogation, you cause a problem immediately for those farmers who are stocked to a certain level and have land themselves.
“They’ll go elsewhere in the country and they’ll start to rent land, put up the price of land and start a land war in our country again. That will affect tens of thousands of farmers.”
Read more
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The Social Democrats spokesperson on climate said that farmers should be consulted about the “phasing out” of Ireland’s derogation.
Jennifer Whitmore was speaking on RTE Radio One about a European vote that will be held at the end of the year to see if Ireland can maintain its nitrates derogation.
She said that although wastewater treatment is also an issue for water quality, agriculture is the main factor.
“In the 1980s, we would’ve had 500 pristine rivers, now we have about 20, so the condition of our water is very poor and our biodiversity is also in a really dire strait,” she said.
“What we have is a situation where our environment is being heavily impacted by the agriculture system we have in place and it is primarily because of the intensification of dairy.”
Political capital
Whitmore added that Irish politicians are using a lot of their “political capital” to fight for this derogation at a European level for only the approximately 7,000 currently within it [the derogation].
She cited a Danish court case that resulted in the country having to scrap its derogation within three months, leaving many farmers in a tough position financially.
“We’ve seen in other countries where the derogation was abruptly stopped and that left those farmers in absolutely dire straits,” she added.
“There was no plan B, there was no transition for them. What we’re saying is that the Government needs to work with farmers to move to a more sustainable model of farming.”
In response, Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly said that the derogation is much more important to the wider agriculture and agri-food sectors.
“It’s a common myth that this only affects 7,000 farmers. If you do what Jennifer wants in terms of getting rid of the derogation, you cause a problem immediately for those farmers who are stocked to a certain level and have land themselves.
“They’ll go elsewhere in the country and they’ll start to rent land, put up the price of land and start a land war in our country again. That will affect tens of thousands of farmers.”
Read more
Galway company’s additive to cut slurry storage emissions
Vote on derogation in December
Stocking rate limits on milking platform on table
Three-step splash plate ban proposed
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