Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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54. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has plans to extend the slurry spreading deadline by at least two weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38402/24]

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I want to ask the Minister about the plans he hopefully has to extend the slurry season. As he will be aware, we have had a difficult and wet summer. The harvest was late and farmers in many parts of the country have had difficulty getting fodder saved, particularly in areas where there are wetter, heavier soils. As a result, many farmers are letting their cattle graze later in order to try and save their fodder. Now they are in a situation where they need to spread slurry out. It is has been difficult to do that up until now. The past two weeks of good weather have helped. Farmers have certainly not been able to spread slurry in many places. It would be appropriate, therefore, that, as happened last year, there be a short extension to the slurry-spreading season to ensure this can happen.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this matter. It is something that a number of people have raised with me over the past couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, and for very good reason, it is not something I intend or am in a position to do. Our collective priority has to be in terms of making sure that we improve water quality and, in particular, that we retain our nitrates derogation. The latter is dependent on good water quality.

The closed period is in place for good scientific reasons. Slurry is spread at a time of year when once the nutrients from it hit the ground, plants - be it grasses or crops - are able to utilise those nutrients, soak them up and grow as opposed to the nutrients just in the ground and not being utilised by plants, and potentially leaching into surrounding watercourses, which is what happens from this point of the year onwards.

Last year was very different. I gave a two-week extension last year but, as the Deputy will recall, the weather then was very different from what we have had in the past month to six weeks. The harvest was significantly different last year. There were lots of crops unharvested. That indicates what it was like on grasslands as well. Indeed, I had to compensate tillage farmers for the unprecedentedly difficult harvest we had last year.

Thankfully, there have been windows this year during which ground conditions have by and large been much better and the harvest has progressed. Certainly, in the south, the south east and the midlands, the ground has been very dry. It has been more challenging in the west and north west, but there have been windows there and opportunities.

The challenge is that 1 October is the deadline. If I were to extend the deadline to 8 October, slurry would be spread on that date with the with the objective of growing grass. When will that grass be fully grown? When will it be available? It may be mid- or late November, if it does grow. If it does not grow, the slurry will still be there in the ground waiting for weather events to bring it somewhere else. October is not the time of year to spread slurry. Spring or at other times of the year when conditions are there for plants, crops and grass to take up the nutrients and grow. It is a waste to be spreading slurry at this time of year.

Last year, I extended the deadline because of the weather conditions that obtained. That is not the situation this year. Our priority collectively has to be that we act in a sensible and proportionate way. If any farmers are experiencing difficulties, they should contact the Department and outline their circumstances. We are certainly not in a position to extend the deadline.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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All of us recognise that both the quality of water and our waterways have to be protected. I suppose overuse of fertilisers, etc., can be a problem and is an issue in many cases. However, we also have to recognise that we were at the ploughing championships last week and it was more like a day in July than one in September. That can often happen. This is the problem when one farms by the calendar or one has strict rules set in the context of the dates that apply.

Grass will certainly have been growing very well in the past couple of weeks. We can see that. Indeed, even in this weather we have now, while there is a little bit of rain, there is still a lot of heat in the soil and in the air. Weather and climate patterns are changing. There needs to be more flexibility to recognise that if one simply sets dates for things, it will not work. If we looked back to maybe 30, 40 or 50 years ago, we could perhaps see that the climate was much more rigid than it is now. We are seeing much more movement as regards our climate.

I take the Minister's point that it is not good to be trying to grow grass in October. However, many farmers' slatted sheds are full. Up to now, it has been too wet to spread slurry. That is their difficulty. They have to put their cattle back in and they need to get the slurry out. They have not be able to do it up until now in many parts of the country, particularly in the north and the north west. There needs to be some flexibility.

If the Minister is saying that a person who is under pressure can contact the Department and that some arrangement can be arrived at, I welcome that. However, it needs to be clear what that arrangement will be.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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It is always the case. There should be exceptional circumstances, and they would have to engage and explain those circumstances from an animal welfare point of view.

There is a long slurry-spreading season from early spring until 1 October. The use of chemical fertilisers finishes in mid-September. As I say, grass does not grow in mid- or late October and November in the same the way it does in April, May or June. As for nutrients, if they are applied, it is not the time to be spreading either fertiliser or manure because this is not the time of year for animals.

We hope to get a long growing season. It would be a good deal if animals could continue to graze until 1 November in most parts of the country but any land on which slurry is spread up to, for example 8 or 15 October, will not be ready for grazing by 1 November. Those nutrients will still be sitting in the soil in November. There is every likelihood and a high risk, subject to weather patterns, of their potentially ending up where we do not want them to end up, particularly if they are not utilised by plants. We cannot have such a situation.

I have considered this matter. I am always flexible in circumstances where it is absolutely needed, but autumn this year is, thankfully, very different from autumn last year. Our collective priority must be to protect water quality and ensure, through that, that we retain our nitrates derogation. The negotiations relating to the latter will take place in the coming year - in the spring and summer - and the objective is t have it renewed for the following year.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate and understand all of that, but a particular situation obtains in many parts of the country at present. Many farmers have been in contact with me - I am sure they have been in contact with the Minister's office - regarding the difficulties they have had in getting their slurry out because of the particularly wet summer and as a result of the situation they find themselves in whereby they will soon have to bring their cattle back in. Their slurry tanks are still practically full. If they can go to the Department and plead exceptional circumstances in that regard, that is fair enough.

I take the Minister's point that it is not good practice to put nutrients on the soil at this time of year, particularly if we get harsher weather that leads to grass not growing and the nutrients just sitting there. We all understand that. On the other hand, people cannot simply leave slurry in their slatted sheds. What will happen in such circumstances? The cattle have to go somewhere. It is about finding a balance.

We are in a situation where we have had good weather for a couple of weeks. The ground has dried out a little and we will probably have growth a little later because of the way the weather patterns are looking. Obviously, there is an opportunity for farmers, who are operating in difficult circumstances, to spread their slurry. They should be allowed to do that because that is the only way they can manage. Otherwise, what will they do when they have to bring their cattle back in?

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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It is animal welfare considerations that we are talking about at this stage. Every year, from the start of the year onwards, there is a time to spread slurry and, as much as possible, to use it between grazing intervals as well.

Certainly, nobody should have full tanks. Especially in the context of the year that is in it, nobody should have full tanks at this point. If they do, they need to seriously examine what happened and how they got to this stage, because there have been opportunities for that not to be the case.

This is not the time of year to be spreading slurry. It is not the time of year when one gets value of it whereby it can be used to grow grass. From this point of the year on, there is a very high risk of slurry that has been spread impacting on water quality.

We all agree on the absolute importance of acting responsibly and proportionately and of making sure that we enhance water quality in order that we will keep our derogation, which is higher than what is available in other countries because of the fact that, over the course of the year, we can grow more grass and use more nutrients. That is why we feel we should have a higher allowance, but that is all dependent on us acting sensibly in a way that ensures water quality is protected. That is the reason, given the circumstances, why there will be no extension this year.