Minister accused of ignoring committee on nitrates plan

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has been accused of ignoring Oireachtas recommendations after publishing the new Nitrates Renewal Plan.

The Nitrates Renewal Plan was published last week, a €60m programme which includes putting 50 water quality ‘advisors’ in place as well as nutrient storage incentives including planning exemptions and grants, in what Minister McConalogue called a ‘whole of agriculture approach’.

But West Cork Senator Tim Lombard said no consideration was given to the work done by a Joint Oireachtas committee with all stakeholders.

‘You’d have to question, was there any consideration of the report at all or was this already just preordained,’ said Sen Lombard.

The Joint Committee held hearings with stakeholders beginning in February and running until July.

Over these months, the Committee engaged with representatives from farm organisations (ICMSA, IFA and Macra), An Taisce, Coastwatch, Bird Watch Ireland, Irish Co-Operative Organisation Society, Agricultural Consultants Association, ICSA, officials from the Dept of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Teagasc, Officials from the Dept of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Uisce Eireann, Local Authority Waters Programme, Inland Fisheries Ireland, Ibec (Dairy Industry Ireland) and the EPA.

Sen Lombard says among the key recommendations of the Oireachtas committee, which are not addressed by the Nitrates Renewal Plan were:

• The establishment of an inter departmental taskforce, chaired by the Dept of the Taoiseach to properly assess the economic and social implications of a further derogation reduction.

• Increase in the frequency of reporting of water quality test results by the Environmental Protection Agency

• Adequate resourcing of Uisce Éireann to upgrade wastewater treatment plants, and further research to be undertaken into links between elevated levels of afforestation and increased phosphorus concentrations in water bodies.

‘A significant body of work was undertaken since February by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and Marine,’ said Sen Lombard.

The committee’s report was published on Friday August 16th. Minister McConalogue published the Nitrates action plan the following Tuesday.

‘As far as Committee members were concerned, there was an assumption that the departments were going to look at this report, consider the recommendations and tie it into the road map,’ said Sen Lombard.

‘Of all regions in the country, this issue is crucial to the economy in Cork South West where we have over 1,300 dairy suppliers supplying in excess of 600 million litres of milk annually to the four West Cork Co-Ops and to Dairygold.

‘The dairy industry in this part of the world is worth over €250m annually and is a key driver of the economy locally.

‘Unfortunately, Minister McConalogue went ahead and published the new Nitrates Renewal Plan and it would appear that no consideration was given to the work done by the committee with all stakeholders.

‘Our aim was to get a well balanced, comprehensive report to make sure that we could then set the roadmap that required to keep our derogation.

‘This requires an “all of government approach” and must include the Dept of Agriculture, Dept of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the relevant Oireachtas committees.’