The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy T.D., and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D., today announced a one-month extension to the deadline by which derogation farmers must have 50% of the their slurry spread.

The date is extended from 15 June to 15 July 2018 and thereafter the remainder of slurry must be spread by low-emission technology.

Minister Creed explained that “We have decided to extend the date by one month to 15 July 2018 in light of the significant difficulties faced by farmers and contractors in spreading slurry as a result of the extreme weather this spring. This has meant that it is not possible for many derogation farmers to meet the 15 June deadline set out in the Nitrates Regulations due to the poor weather and delayed grass growth, which has impacted on first cut silage harvesting dates. The limited extension for 2018 will facilitate farmers and contractors in catching up with their workloads”.