IFA Reaction to High Court Nitrates Judgment

IFA President Francie Gorman said todays’ judgment in the case taken against the Department for Housing, Local Government and Heritage by An Taisce in relation to Ireland’s Nitrates Action Programme is a procedural judgment which clarifies the issues to be dealt with by the courts at a future date. 

“The Nitrates Action Programme and the derogation will stand while these matters are being considered. This will a huge relief for thousands of farm families up and down the country,” he said.

IFA is a notice party in this case and I want to thank the other farmers who put their business information forward to show the impact removing the derogation would have on their farm businesses.

“An Taisce benefit from cost protection orders to take cases such as this to the courts, but farmers do not have any such protection. We have to put our own funds on the line to protect our livelihoods,” the IFA President said.

“I will be asking An Taisce to sit down with the IFA to have a rational discussion about these issues. The court room is not a place to set policy,” he concluded.