(1)

If the amount of manure that a Member State intends to apply per hectare each year is different from those specified in the first sentence of the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III to Directive 91/676/EEC and in point (a) of that subparagraph, that amount is to be fixed so as not to prejudice the achievement of the objectives specified in Article 1 of that Directive and it 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 granting a derogation requested by Ireland pursuant to Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (2), 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 Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2006 (Statutory Instrument No 378 of 2006), with expiration date on 17 July 2010.

(3)

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

(4)

The derogation granted by Decision 2007/697/EC as amended by Decision 2011/127/EU concerned 5 093 farms in 2012, corresponding to approximately 3,34 % of the total number of holdings with grazing animals, 11,44 % of the total number of livestock units and 5,19 % of the total net agricultural area.

(5)

On 4 October 2013, Ireland submitted to the Commission a request for extension of the Derogation under the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III to Directive 91/676/EEC.

(6)

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

(7)

The ‘Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the implementation of Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources based on Member State reports for the period 2008-2011’ shows that in Ireland for groundwater, all monitoring stations have mean nitrate concentrations below 50 mg/l and 87 % of monitoring stations have mean nitrate concentrations below 25 mg/l. For surface water, all monitoring stations have mean nitrate concentrations below 50 mg/l and more than 99 % of monitoring stations have mean nitrate concentrations below 25 mg/l.

(8)

The number of livestock and the utilisation of chemical fertilisers decreased over the last number of years. Cattle, pig and sheep numbers decreased respectively by 4 %, 11 % and 22 % from the period 2004-2007 to the period 2008-2011. Average nitrogen loading from livestock manure in the period 2008-2011 was 105 kg/ha, with a decline of 8 % compared to 2004-2007. Phosphorus average loading in the period 2008-2011 was 15 kg/ha, with a decline of 6 % compared to 2004-2007. Average chemical N fertiliser use decreased by 6 % in the period 2008-2011 compared to 2004-2007. Average chemical P fertiliser use decreased by 31 % in the period 2008-2011 compared to 2004-2007.

(9)

In Ireland, 93 % of agricultural land is devoted to grassland. Overall, in grassland farms, 47 % of the land area is farmed extensively and has therefore a relatively low stocking rate and low fertiliser inputs, 32 % is farmed under agro-environmental programmes and only 5,2 % is farmed intensively. 7 % is used for arable agriculture. The average chemical fertiliser use on grassland is 81 kg/ha nitrogen and 7 kg/ha phosphorus.

(10)

The Irish climate, characterised by an annual rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year and a relatively narrow annual temperature range promote 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.

(11)

The Commission, after examination of the request from Ireland, having considered the Irish action programme and in the light of the experience gained from the derogation provided for in Decision 2007/697/EC as amended by Decision 2011/127/EU 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 conditions being met.

(12)

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 high net precipitation, long growing seasons and high yields of grass with high nitrogen uptake.

(13)

The Decision 2007/697/EC as amended by Decision 2011/127/EU has an expiration date of 31 December 2013. For the purpose of ensuring that the farmers concerned may continue to benefit from the derogation, it is appropriate to adopt this Decision.

(14)

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 four years);

(d)

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

(a)

maps showing the percentage of farms, percentage of livestock and percentage of agricultural land covered by individual derogation for each county, as well as maps on local land use, referred to in Article 7(1);

(b)

the results of ground and surface water monitoring, as regards nitrate concentrations, including information on water quality trends, both under derogation and non-derogation conditions as well as the impact of derogation on water quality, as referred to in Article 7(2);

(c)

the results of soil monitoring as regards nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in soil water and on mineral nitrogen in soil profile, both under derogation and non-derogation conditions, as referred to in Article 7(2);

(d)

a summary and evaluation of data obtained from the reinforced water monitoring referred to in Article 7(3);

(e)

the results of the surveys on local land use, crop rotations and agricultural practices, referred to in Article 7(4);

(f)

the results of model-based calculations of the magnitude of nitrate and phosphorus losses from farms benefiting from an individual derogation, referred to in Article 7(4);

(g)

an evaluation of the implementation of the derogation conditions, on the basis of controls at farm level and information on non-compliant farms, on the basis of the results of the administrative controls and field inspections, referred to in Article 8(1) and (2);

(h)

a comparative analysis of controls of derogation farms and non-derogation farms in Ireland. Information shall include data on annual inspections, administrative checks, agricultural inspections in the context of cross-compliance arrangements and statistics on breaches.