(1)

Directive 91/676/EEC lays down rules on the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources. If the amount of manure that a Member State intends to allow per hectare each year is different from that specified in the first sentence of the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III to that Directive, the amount of manure is to be fixed so as not to prejudice the achievement of the objectives specified in Article 1 of Directive 91/676/EEC and has to be justified on the basis of objective criteria, such as long growing seasons and crops with high nitrogen uptake.

(2)

On 22 October 2007, the Commission adopted Decision 2007/697/EC (2) granting a derogation requested by Ireland pursuant to Directive 91/676/EEC for the purpose of allowing the application of livestock manure up to a limit of 250 kg nitrogen per hectare per year, under certain conditions, on farms with at least 80 % grassland, in the context of the Irish Action Programme as implemented in the European Communities (Good Agricultural Practices for Protection of waters) Regulations 2006 (Statutory Instrument No 378 of 2006).

(3)

On 24 February 2011, the Commission adopted Decision 2011/127/EU (3), amending Decision 2007/697/EC and extending the derogation until 31 December 2013, in the context of the Irish Action Programme as implemented in the European Communities (Good Agricultural Practices for Protection of waters) Regulations 2010 (Statutory Instrument No 610 of 2010).

(4)

On 27 February 2014, the Commission adopted Decision 2014/112/EU (4), granting a derogation requested by Ireland pursuant to Directive 91/676/EEC for the purpose of allowing the application of livestock manure up to a limit of 250 kg nitrogen per hectare per year, under certain conditions, on farms with at least 80 % grassland, in the context of the Irish Action Programme as implemented in the European Communities (Good Agricultural Practices for Protection of waters) Regulations 2014 (Statutory Instrument No 31 of 2014). Decision 2014/112/EU expired on 31 December 2017.

(5)

The derogation granted by Decision 2014/112/EU concerned 6 802 farms in 2016, corresponding to approximately 5,4 % of the total number of holdings with grazing animals, 20,2 % of the total number of livestock units and 9,3 % of the total net agricultural area in Ireland.

(6)

On 7 March 2017, Ireland submitted to the Commission a request for an extension of the derogation under the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III to Directive 91/676/EEC.

(7)

In conformity with Article 3(5) of Directive 91/676/EEC, Ireland applies an action programme throughout its whole territory.

(8)

The data provided by Ireland in the context of the reporting obligation required by Article 10 of Directive 91/676/EEC shows that, for the period 2012-2015, the waters are of generally good quality. All monitoring stations for groundwater in Ireland had mean nitrate concentrations below 50 mg/l and 87 % of those monitoring stations had mean nitrate concentrations below 25 mg/l. All monitoring stations for surface water in Ireland had mean nitrate concentrations below 40 mg/l and 99,5 % of those monitoring stations had mean nitrate concentrations below 25 mg/l.

(9)

The number of livestock in Ireland has increased over the last number of years. Cattle, pig and sheep numbers increased respectively by 3,8 %, 3,7 % and 5,1 % from the period 2008-2011 to the period 2012-2015, reversing the declines in the previous reporting period. Average nitrogen loading from livestock manure in the period 2012-2015 was 104 kg/ha, similar to the period 2008-2011. Average phosphorus loading in the period 2012-2015 was 15 kg/ha, also similar to the period 2008-2011. Average chemical N fertiliser use increased by 5 % in the period 2012-2015 compared to the period 2008-2011. Average chemical P fertiliser use increased by 32,7 % in the period 2012-2015 compared to the period 2008-2011. However, the average use of chemical P fertiliser in the period 2012-2015 was still 9,5 % lower compared to the average use of that fertiliser in the period 2004-2008 (5).

(10)

In Ireland, 92 % of agricultural land is devoted to grassland. Overall, in grassland farms, 50 % of the land area is farmed extensively and has therefore a relatively low stocking rate and low fertiliser inputs, 21 % is farmed under agro-environmental programmes and only 9,3 % is farmed intensively. 8 % is used for arable agriculture. The average chemical fertiliser use on grassland is 80 kg/ha nitrogen and 8 kg/ha phosphorus (5).

(11)

The Irish climate, characterised by an annual rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year and a relatively narrow annual temperature range, promotes a long grass-growing season ranging from 330 days per year in the south-west to around 250 days per year in the north-east (6).

(12)

After examination of the request from Ireland in accordance with the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III to Directive 91/676/EEC and in the light of the Irish Action Programme and the experience gained from the derogation provided for in Decisions 2007/697/EC and 2014/112/EU, the Commission considers that the amount of manure proposed by Ireland, corresponding to 250 kg nitrogen per hectare per year, will not prejudice the achievement of the objectives of Directive 91/676/EEC, subject to certain strict individual conditions that should apply to farmers covered by the authorisation.

(13)

The supporting information presented by Ireland shows that the proposed amount of 250 kg nitrogen per hectare per year on farms with at least 80 % grassland is justified on the basis of objective criteria, such as long growing seasons and high yields of grass with high nitrogen uptake.

(14)

Decision 2014/112/EU will expire on 31 December 2017. For the purpose of ensuring that the farmers concerned continue to benefit from the derogation, it is appropriate to adopt this Decision.

(15)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Nitrates Committee set up pursuant to Article 9 of Directive 91/676/EEC,

(a)

‘grassland farms’ means holdings where 80 % or more of the agricultural area available for manure application is grass;

(b)

‘grazing livestock’ means cattle (with the exclusion of veal calves), sheep, deer, goats and horses;

(c)

‘grass’ means permanent grassland or temporary grassland (temporary implying leys of less than 4 years);

(d)

‘parcel’ means an individual field or a group of fields, homogeneous regarding cropping, soil type and fertilisation practices;

(e)

‘fertilisation plan’ means an advance calculation about the planned use and availability of nutrients;

(f)

‘fertilisation account’ means the nutrient balance based on the real use and uptake of nutrients.

(a)

maps showing the percentage of grassland farms, the percentage of livestock and the percentage of agricultural land covered by authorisations for each County, as well as maps on local land use, as referred to in Article 8(1);

(b)

the results of ground and surface water monitoring as regards nitrate concentrations, including information on water trends, both under derogation and non-derogation conditions as well as the impact of the derogation granted in this Decision on water quality, as referred to in Article 8(2);

(c)

the results of soil monitoring as regards nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in soil water and as regards mineral nitrogen in soil profile, both under derogation and non-derogation conditions, as referred to in Article 8(2);

(d)

a summary and an evaluation of data obtained from the reinforced water monitoring referred to in Article 8(3);

(e)

the results of the surveys on local land use, crop rotations and agricultural practices referred to in Article 8(4);

(f)

the results of the model-based calculations of the magnitude of nitrate and phosphorus losses referred to in Article 8(5);

(g)

an evaluation of the implementation of the conditions for the authorisations on the basis of the results of the administrative controls and field inspections referred to in Article 9(1) and (2);

(h)

a comparative analysis of controls of grassland farms in Ireland covered by authorisations and grassland farms in Ireland not covered by authorisations. The analysis shall include data on annual inspections, administrative checks, agricultural inspections in the context of cross-compliance arrangements and statistics on non-compliance.