European Commissioner visits family farm in Kildare

European Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall, visited Kildare last week at the invitation of Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, TD for Kildare South. 

The Commissioner, who stayed at the Killashee House Hotel, also visited the Durkin family farm near Ballyshannon between Kilcullen and Athy as an example of a typical Irish derogation dairy farm. Minister Heydon along with Pat Durkin and his daughter Kayleigh were able to show the Commissioner first-hand the great work being carried out by our derogation farmers on improving water quality. This visit was an important part of Minister Heydon’s campaign to retain Ireland’s nitrates derogation which is vital for Kildare’s farming community. 

Commenting on the visit, Minister Heydon outlined: “Pat and his daughter Kayleigh showed the Commissioner the best of Irish family farms where two generations work side by side, adopting the latest technology to producing top quality food while improving farming’s impact on our environment.“

READ NEXT; Young Kildare author publishes her first novel. 

The visit to Kildare was then followed by meetings with Oireachtas TD’s senators and environmental stakeholders in Teagasc’s Ashtown research facility in Dublin.

The Minister added: “It is important that Commissioner Roswall had an opportunity to visit and engage directly with farmers and stakeholders. I have committed to leaving no stone unturned in our ambition to secure a continued derogation. There are many challenging aspects in relation to renewal of the Nitrates Derogation, including the need to conduct detailed assessments to demonstrate compliance with the Habitats Directive, as sought by the Commission in June. Despite those challenges, this engagement has been positive.”

Concluding, Minister Heydon said: “Negotiations will continue over the coming weeks on our request for continuation of the derogation as we seek to secure agreement, including seeking the required support from other member states. I am satisfied that Commissioner Roswall now has an excellent understanding of the Irish context from her visit to Kildare, including our commitment to improving water quality, something that is critical to continuance of the derogation facility in the year ahead.”