Allister leads farming delegation in meeting with DOE Minister
02 May 2009
Traditional Unionist MEP Jim Allister lead a UFU delegation to meet with DOE Minister Sammy Wilson this week. The meeting was organised to highlight farmers concerns over how IPPC rules are currently being implemented in Northern Ireland, compared with other parts of the United Kingdom.
Speaking after the meeting, the MEP commented,
“I impressed upon the Minister the level of opposition that exists -particularly among Northern Ireland pig and poultry farmers –to current EU proposals to extend IPPC regulations, both in scope and in burden. The Minister confirmed that he would raise these concerns with the UK Minister, to inform future negotiations with the Commission.”
“Second on the agenda, was the degree of ‘gold-plating’ local farmers are experiencing in relation to their requirements under IPPC compared with their counterparts elsewhere in the UK. For example, noise and odour management plans have to be prepared as a matter of course in Northern Ireland, while in GB, these are only necessary where there is a history of complaint from a third party living nearby to a farm. In addition, more draconian requirements have been placed on farms in relation to slurry management, on top of the regulation which is required under the EU Nitrates Directive, which is completely unnecessary and additional to the interpretation elsewhere.”
“The volume of paperwork for Northern Ireland farmers affected by IPPC has cost the existing 150 farms an additional 7230 labour hours per year, according to DOE’s own estimates. What is clear is that there is plenty of scope for the Minister to cut back on some of the unnecessary bureaucracy associated with the implementation of this particular regulation, and I look forward to seeing that happen”.
ENDS
