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The cut to Ireland’s nitrates derogation will cause “huge damage” to Ireland’s dairy sector, according to Oireachtas agriculture committee chair Jackie Cahill TD.
The Fianna Fáil TD said he is “extremely disappointed” at the European Commission’s “shock” decision not to revisit Ireland’s derogation on the nitrates directive.
“As chair of the Oireachtas agriculture committee, we held numerous hearings on derogation and invited in various groups to make submissions on this issue.
"I was convinced following these meetings that there was a strong and credible case to be made for maintaining the 250kg derogation on Irish farms,” he said.
‘Regressive decision’
Cahill described the nitrates cut as a “regressive decision”, which “will undoubtedly cause huge damage to the Irish dairy sector”.
“It will mean that capacity in the processing system will not be used and it will seriously threaten the viability of the Irish family farm structure.
“The average age of dairy farmers in Ireland is 59. It is going to be impossible to convince young farmers to enter an industry that is now going to contract as a result of this decision made in Brussels.
“The European Commission has failed to see the fact that the Irish grass-based system makes us the most sustainable producers of dairy on the planet. They have failed to differentiate our green farming model from that of vastly different models across the continent.
“As both a public representative and a dairy farmer, I am seriously worried about the damage that this terrible decision is going to do to the rural economy and to the family farm structures here,” he added.
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