European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 393/2022).

These Regulations amend the European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2022 (Regulations 2022) to further implement Council Directive 91/676/EEC and to implement Commission Implementing Decision of 29 April 2022 on granting a derogation requested by Ireland pursuant to Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural source. Amendments to the Regulation 2022 entail: new definitions inserted under Art. 4 (fertilization plan, fertilization account, grassland farm, etc.), Art. 7 and 9 concerning storage facilities, and other Articles concerning grassland, shallow cultivation, etc.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine shall be the competent authority for the purposes of verifying compliance with a derogation granted under the Commission Decision. The application to land, on a holding in any year of livestock manure in excess of the amount specified in Article 20(1) shall be deemed not to be a contravention of that sub-article where all of the following conditions are met (a) the occupier of the holding has made application in respect of that year to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for authorisation of a derogation from the requirements of that sub-article; (b) the application under paragraph (a) is duly completed in the form and on or before the date specified for the time being by that Minister; (c) the application under paragraph (a) is accompanied by an undertaking in writing by the occupier to comply with all the conditions specified in Schedule 5, and (d) all the conditions set out in Schedule 5 are met by the occupier in relation to the holding.
The 2022 Regulations are amended by the insertion of Schedule 5 after Schedule 4, Conditions applying in relation to Derogation; conditions for the purposes of Article 35 (1) in relation to the application to land on a holding in any year of livestock manure in excess of the amount specified in Article 20(1).