An Taisce — the National Trust for Ireland has asked the European Commission to reconsider its decision to grant Ireland permission to spread manure at rates above the limits imposed by EU law aimed at preventing water pollution for a further three years. According to the request submitted by An Taisce, there are serious doubts about the lawfulness of this decision and therefore the Commission should make a new decision withdrawing this permission. 

According to documents released to An Taisce under the access to environmental information regulations, Ireland did not demonstrate, as it was required to do, that the proposed decision would be compatible with EU water quality and biodiversity laws, but rather that intensive agricultural activities ought to continue so that Ireland could get its house in order by delaying these assessments for up to three years. 

In a submission filed on 2 March 2026, An Taisce told the Commission that it lacked the power to grant this derogation because it was not justified on environmental grounds, and in any event the Commission erred in its assessment and did not ensure that the decision included essential safeguards to protect water quality and sensitive habitats from pollution caused by intensive animal agriculture such as grass-based dairying.  

Non-governmental organisations and members of the public may request the European Commission undertake an internal review of any administrative act adopted, if it is considered that there are serious doubts over compatibility with EU environmental law.  

Ireland has had a nitrates derogation since 2007 providing an exemption from the full implementation of the Nitrates Directive, an important and necessary EU measure to protect against the pollution of rivers and lakes and estuaries from pollution caused by seepage of nitrates from overstocked farmland.

Poor water quality

The Environmental Protection Agency has long highlighted the dire state of Irish water quality, with recent data demonstrating that half of Irish rivers and two thirds of estuaries are polluted, with the latest EPA report indicating that nitrate rose 10% in 2025 compared with 2024. An Taisce has consistently called on the European Commission to remove the derogation from Ireland, which is now the only European state availing of it.   

In its Internal Review request, An Taisce argued that the Commission’s decision to grant Ireland a derogation was made without justification and in any event relied on ineffective measures, which, according to An Taisce, jeopardises the aims of the Habitats Directive and the Water Framework Directive, and therefore raises serious doubt over the legal justification for the derogation decision. 

An Taisce also argued, that the Commission granted Ireland an additional 3 years in order to carry out the necessary environmental assessments for the impact of the derogations on water quality and nature. According to the Nitrates Directive, the justification for a derogation must be underpinned by environmental assessments, but this extension of the derogation instead granted Ireland another three years to produce those very assessments. An Taisce is questioning the legal rationale for that decision.  

In addition to the legal concerns about the impact of the decision on water quality protection obligations, the Internal Review request also raised ammonia air pollution concerns, highlighting that the derogation was granted without first determining whether there would be an adverse effect on the integrity of ammonia-sensitive protected sites, such as bogs and heaths. 

Fred Logue, solicitor, of FP Logue LLP, drafted and submitted the request on behalf of An Taisce. The European Commission has 16 weeks from the time of the request to issue a reply, which it may extend up to a maximum of 22 weeks. 

Dr. Elaine McGoff, Head of Advocacy said: 

‘Decisions like this are meant to be based on the science, but the evidence clearly shows Ireland has a serious water pollution problem that isn’t getting any better, caused largely by agricultural nitrogen.   

The public are not in favour of Ireland having a derogation, and a recent Ireland Thinks poll indicated that the Irish people overwhelmingly want clean, healthy water, and the majority of those that responded were not in favour of Ireland seeking another derogation.   

Given our poor track record on protecting water quality nationally, we are looking to the European Commission to drive better compliance with EU law by the Irish Government. Unfortunately, we do not believe this derogation decision achieved that. We believe it is important that the legal and ecological rationale of the decision be reviewed by the Commission

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