This is a subscriber-only article
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has called on the Minister for Agriculture to spell out in full his plans in relation to the appropriate assessment (AA) for the nitrates derogation.
ICMSA president Denis Drennan also urged Minister Martin Heydon to hold talks with the European Commission before submitting his proposals.
Over a month after receiving the letter from the Commission and after two meetings of the agricultural water quality group, the ICMSA said there is a lack of any real clarity around the process, the implications for farmers and the timeframe for implementation.
Drennan said these moves could help alleviate the enormous uncertainty that now hangs over family dairy farms.
“Given the seriousness of the situation, it’s just not good enough to be told that the Department intend to submit an outline plan to the Commission before the end of July, but will not share details with the parties directly impacted: the farmers,” he said.
“As always, detail matters and unless we have clarity around exactly what the Minister intends to submit, we as a sector and as farmers are ‘signing a blank cheque’, the worst possible option.”
Compliance
The ICMSA said it appears that under the current process, compliant farmers could be unfairly targeted and that this could not be allowed to happen.
“From an ICMSA perspective and based on what we have heard but have not seen, the current proposal from the Minister is going to force farmers into a process within which many will not be able to progress through no fault of their own,” added Drennan.
“The Government need to communicate in full with the farmer organisations, spell out in detail the process and how it intends to ensure that farmers meeting the current requirements can continue to farm at their current sustainable level.
“The future of our centuries-old and multi-billion euro dairy sector is dependent on this plan, make no mistake about it.”
SHARING OPTIONS: