The Government’s position on minimum slurry storage requirements on dairy farms will be made clear imminently, according to Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon.
Last week saw a Teagasc report land on Minister Heydon’s desk outlining findings that the slurry produced on a sample of commercial dairy farms monitored over the past two winters was an average of 24% higher than the minimum storage volumes currently laid down in law.
Minister Heydon did not indicate whether dairy farmers should prepare for increased regulatory slurry storage requirements when asked by the Irish Farmers Journal.
He instead pushed responsibility for the decision back to his colleague Minister for Housing James Browne, who has responsibility for the nitrates action programme (NAP).
The current NAP is due to expire at the end of this year and a new plan will soon go to public consultation as part of the State’s bid to secure another nitrates derogation.
Consultation
“On the NAP, Minister Browne will very soon be publishing proposals for public consultation and I have been very much involved in the design of them in terms of making sure it does what we need to do from a water quality perspective, but also the practicalities of their impacts on farming,” the Minister said.
He spoke before a conference on agriculture kicked off in Ennis, Co Clare, organised by party colleague Joe Cooney TD.
“There is going to be clarity from Minister Browne very, very soon in terms of the public consultation.”
These “targeted” proposals are intended on “supporting farmers and giving them as much clarity as possible”, while avoiding “extra burden that is unnecessary and won’t deliver for them”.
The comments around dairy slurry storage requirements come after the Government’s nitrates expert group flagged that “dairy farmers will likely need to increase their storage capacity”, but that a “lead-in time should apply before new regulatory requirements enter into force”.
Planning rules for farms
Minister Heydon also told the Irish Farmers Journal that he hopes clarity will be brought by Minister of State at the Department of Housing John Cummins next week to Government plans to exempt some slurry storage construction projects from planning rules.
Consultation documents for the plans suggest that changes to planning regulations will be sought that allow the addition of standalone slurry tanks of up to 1,000m³ of storage space, as well as for the construction of sheds up to 300m³ ground area, without the need for planning permission.
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Ireland facing 200,000 cow cull if derogation lost
The Government’s position on minimum slurry storage requirements on dairy farms will be made clear imminently, according to Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon.
Last week saw a Teagasc report land on Minister Heydon’s desk outlining findings that the slurry produced on a sample of commercial dairy farms monitored over the past two winters was an average of 24% higher than the minimum storage volumes currently laid down in law.
Minister Heydon did not indicate whether dairy farmers should prepare for increased regulatory slurry storage requirements when asked by the Irish Farmers Journal.
He instead pushed responsibility for the decision back to his colleague Minister for Housing James Browne, who has responsibility for the nitrates action programme (NAP).
The current NAP is due to expire at the end of this year and a new plan will soon go to public consultation as part of the State’s bid to secure another nitrates derogation.
Consultation
“On the NAP, Minister Browne will very soon be publishing proposals for public consultation and I have been very much involved in the design of them in terms of making sure it does what we need to do from a water quality perspective, but also the practicalities of their impacts on farming,” the Minister said.
He spoke before a conference on agriculture kicked off in Ennis, Co Clare, organised by party colleague Joe Cooney TD.
“There is going to be clarity from Minister Browne very, very soon in terms of the public consultation.”
These “targeted” proposals are intended on “supporting farmers and giving them as much clarity as possible”, while avoiding “extra burden that is unnecessary and won’t deliver for them”.
The comments around dairy slurry storage requirements come after the Government’s nitrates expert group flagged that “dairy farmers will likely need to increase their storage capacity”, but that a “lead-in time should apply before new regulatory requirements enter into force”.
Planning rules for farms
Minister Heydon also told the Irish Farmers Journal that he hopes clarity will be brought by Minister of State at the Department of Housing John Cummins next week to Government plans to exempt some slurry storage construction projects from planning rules.
Consultation documents for the plans suggest that changes to planning regulations will be sought that allow the addition of standalone slurry tanks of up to 1,000m³ of storage space, as well as for the construction of sheds up to 300m³ ground area, without the need for planning permission.
Read more
Ireland facing 200,000 cow cull if derogation lost
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