At the end of December 2025, the European Commission announced that it had approved a three-year extension to the derogation granted to Ireland under the Nitrates Directive, with effect from 1 January 2026.
This decision, unanimously supported by the Member States in the Nitrates Committee on 9 December, is accompanied by strengthened environmental conditions.
Granted since 2007, the derogation allows Ireland to exceed the standard ceilings for spreading nitrogen from livestock manure,...