8.9 Water Quality

Nitrates and Nitrates Derogation The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) is the lead authority for the Nitrates Regulations. The set of measures in these regulations provides a basic level of protection against possible adverse impacts to waters arising from agricultural sources. In March 2022, S.I. 113 of 2022, the European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Waters) Regulations 2022 (as amended) was signed by the Minister of Housing, Local Government and Heritage giving effect to Ireland’s 5th Nitrates Action Programme. This Programme runs to 2025 and in response to recent declines in Irish water quality, includes a number of new measures, expanded measures and measures to improve overall compliance with the Nitrates Regulations. An interim review of the Nitrates Action Programme will take place in 2023.

Under the Regulations the amount of livestock manure applied in any year to land on a holding, together with that deposited to land by livestock, shall not exceed 170kg of nitrogen per hectare, and the amount applied to commonage land shall not exceed 50kg of nitrogen per hectare. Farmers who apply for a Nitrates Derogation can farm to a higher limit of 250kg of nitrogen per hectare, subject to additional conditions. These regulations are applicable on a whole State basis.

In March 2022 Ireland secured an extension to its Nitrates Derogation covering the period 2022-2025. The Nitrates Derogation is an important facility for intensively stocked farms as it allows them, subject to additional environmental conditions, to farm up to 250kg livestock manure nitrogen per hectare. However, the EU Commission Implementing Decision granting Ireland its current Nitrates Derogation also includes additional conditionality which includes the need for Ireland to conduct a 2-year water quality review in 2023. Following this review the derogation limit is due to reduce to 220 kg/hectare on 1 January 2024 in certain areas, because the latest water quality results have not shown sufficient improvement.

In 2022, a total of 6,812 farmers made an online application for a Nitrates Derogation. This figure is expected to increase in light of changes in the nutrient excretion rates assigned to dairy cows with effect from January 2023.

Nitrogen and Phosphorus (N&P) Data 2022 The Department’s online system, www.agfood.ie, provides farmers with detailed N&P statements, reflecting “cattle only” stocking rates on their holding. Statements are available online for the latter part of the year, allowing farmers to monitor their nitrate levels in order to comply with the regulatory limits. Text messages also issue periodically to farmers that have relatively high stocking rates for the time of year.

An online system is now used to record movements of organic manure between holdings. The system has replaced the 16,000 paper forms previously submitted by farmers annually and brought several other key benefits. These include simplifying the system of reporting of movements, introducing importer verification of movements and, importantly, also giving farmers access to prompt information on their compliance with the nitrates limits where they are exporting or importing livestock manure. In 2023, work is planned to continue to enhance and further develop this system to assist farmers comply with the regulations.

Agricultural Catchments Programme and the Agricultural Sustainability Support & Advisory Programme The Agricultural Catchments Programme (ACP) is in place since 2008 and is used to evaluate the impact of Ireland’s Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) and the Nitrates Derogation which are implemented under the Nitrates Directive. This Programme has been funded by DAFM and has been delivered by Teagasc since its inception.

Phase 4 of the ACP (2020-2023) commenced in January 2020 and includes research on greenhouse gases (GHG), and carbon sequestration. This expansion was both relevant and vital for DAFM in the context of the Climate Action Plan 2021.

The Agricultural Sustainability Support & Advisory Programme (ASSAP) is also now included in the ACP. ASSAP is an innovative collaborative initiative supported by DAFM, DHLGH and industry to achieve farmer behavioural change regarding the protection of water to meet the Water Framework Directive’s objectives. The ASSAP has been set up to provide free advice and support to farmers to assist them to comply with the Nitrates Regulations, provide solutions for critical source areas and to improve water quality.

This is an innovative approach to achieving improvements in water quality and supports the goals of Food Vision 2030, facilitating better productivity and a more sustainable sector. This is being achieved by advisors working with farmers, focusing on improved nutrient management, with more targeted use of fertiliser, better farmyard practice and appropriate measures for identified critical source areas. Over time, more widespread sustainability approaches developed by Teagasc will be implemented focusing on climate change and biodiversity.

ASSAP represents a whole-of-Government, whole-of-sector approach to provide direct advice to farmers in 190 areas-for-action for the protection and improvement of water quality. Thirty sustainability advisors were assigned to this programme initially, of which 20 were funded by the Government and 10 by the Dairy Co-ops. The industry element of the programme expanded signficantly during 2022 with in excess of 20 ASSAP advisers being funded by industry in early 2023. This figure is anticipated to increase further during 2023. The ASSAP advisors are working within a unified partnership structure which encompasses Teagasc, the Dairy Co-ops and LAWPRO, the Local Authorities Water PROgramme.

Other Measures to Protect Water Quality Several water quality related measures are included in Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan (CSP). Applicable from 2023, enhanced conditionality, the Pillar 1 Eco-Scheme, the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) and especially the ACRES Co-operation Project, will all contribute to improving water quality. Other measures within Ireland’s CSP such as the Organic Farming Scheme, the Capital Investment Scheme and a specifically themed European Innovation Partnership (EIP) call to address water quality will also contribute to protect water quality.

Outside the CAP Strategic Plan, DAFM is also providing funding to the value of €800,000 in total over the period to 2028 for the Waters of LIFE Integrated Project. This project started in 2019 and was due to finish in 2026 but due to delays, it is now scheduled to finish in 2028. This DHLGH-led Integrated Project aims to support the implementation of measures to protect and enhance high-status waters in Ireland. This will be a catchment scale demonstration project to test and validate the effectiveness of implementing locally tailored best practice measures across a range of landscape and land use management activities including agriculture.

The measures outlined above will all complement regulatory requirements under the new Nitrates Action Programme (2022-2025), as well as the 3rd Cycle River Basin Management Plan which is due to be finalised in 2023.

Figure from page 264