European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2025. S.I. No. 588 of 2025.

The European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2025 applies to all holdings in Ireland, including movements and applications of organic and inorganic fertilisers. Its stated purpose is to give effect to Ireland’s Nitrates Action Programme pursuant to Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources. The Regulations establish legally binding requirements for farmyard management, nutrient management and the prevention of water pollution from fertilisers and certain agricultural activities. They require occupiers of holdings to minimise soiled water, collect and store livestock manure, organic fertilisers, soiled water and effluents so as to prevent run-off or seepage into groundwater or surface water, and maintain adequate storage capacity for different categories of livestock manure and effluent. The instrument also regulates nutrient application by requiring fertilisers to be applied in accordance with crop requirements, setting nitrogen and phosphorus limits for grassland, tillage, vegetable and fruit crops, imposing soil testing obligations in specified circumstances, and restricting certain fertiliser applications by reference to stocking rates, soil phosphorus indices and nutrient management planning requirements. The Regulations further provide for protective buffer distances from water bodies, drinking water abstraction points, wells, lakes, karst features and surface waters, and prohibit the application of fertilisers or soiled water in specified conditions, including waterlogged, flooded, snow-covered or frozen land, where heavy rain is forecast, or where steep slopes create a risk of water pollution. They prescribe closed periods during which chemical fertilisers, organic fertilisers and farmyard manure may not be applied, and establish a maximum annual limit of 170 kg nitrogen per hectare from livestock manure, subject to the Nitrates Directive framework. The instrument also imposes record-keeping obligations on occupiers, prohibits false or misleading information, grants inspection and enforcement powers to authorised persons, creates offences and penalties, and assigns monitoring, reporting and enforcement functions to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Environmental Protection Agency and local authorities.