In December 2025, Ireland secured approval from the European Commission to continue its long-running nitrates derogation for a further three years, extending the measure from 1 January 2026 to the end of 2028. The decision provides short-term regulatory certainty for Ireland’s livestock sector but comes with tighter environmental conditions and leaves unresolved questions due to an ongoing legal challenge.
The derogation allows certain Irish farms to exceed the standard nitrogen limit set out in the EU Nitrates Directive, under which applications of nitrogen from livestock manure are generally capped at 170 kg per hectare. Ireland has relied on the derogation for more than a decade to support its predominantly grass-based dairy and beef production model.
Decision following months of scrutiny
The extension was agreed following months of engagement between Irish authorities and EU institutions. A positive vote by Member States at the EU Nitrates Committee in December 2025 cleared the way for the Commission to adopt an implementing decision later that month formally granting the derogation for the 2026-2028 period.
The process took place against a backdrop of increasing EU concern over Ireland’s water-quality performance, with official data showing a long-term decline in the proportion of rivers and lakes achieving good ecological status. Compliance with wider EU environmental law featured prominently in the Commission’s assessment.
What the derogation allows
While the derogation is often associated with a 250 kg nitrogen per hectare limit, this figure no longer applies uniformly across Ireland.
Following a mid-term review of the previous derogation period and the introduction of catchment-based measures, most derogation land has been subject to a lower ceiling of 220 kg organic nitrogen per hectare since January 2024. Only land outside catchments identified as polluted, at risk of pollution, or showing deteriorating water-quality trends may be eligible for higher limits, and only under strict conditions.
The Commission’s implementing decision reflects this differentiated approach. It explicitly recognises that lower limits apply in sensitive catchments and that higher allowances are conditional rather than automatic. Farms may hold land parcels subject to different nitrogen ceilings, meaning overall farm limits are calculated on a parcel-by-parcel basis rather than through a single national threshold.
Eligibility for the derogation remains restricted to farms with a high proportion of grassland and is accompanied by a detailed compliance regime, including nutrient management planning, soil testing, record-keeping, and enhanced slurry storage requirements.
Appropriate Assessment
A key new feature of the 2026-2028 derogation is the explicit requirement for Appropriate Assessment (AA) under the EU Habitats Directive.
As part of the Commission’s decision, Ireland is now required to ensure that its nitrates regime is supported by a legally robust Appropriate Assessment demonstrating that it will not adversely affect the integrity of Natura 2000 sites, either alone or in combination with other plans and projects.
The Commission has made clear that this assessment must be completed and implemented within the lifetime of the derogation. Failure to do so, or a finding that adverse effects cannot be ruled out, could trigger additional restrictions or require changes to how the derogation operates in practice.
This represents a significant tightening of the legal framework around the derogation and reflects heightened EU scrutiny of how agricultural nutrient policy interacts with nature protection law.
Tighter conditions and monitoring
In addition to the AA requirement, the renewed derogation is accompanied by further safeguards aimed at improving water quality. These include wider buffer zones along watercourses, stricter rules on fertiliser timing and application, and additional constraints in catchments where nitrogen pressures remain high.
The Commission has stated that continuation of the derogation is contingent on measurable environmental progress during the 2026-2028 period. Poor water-quality outcomes or failures in implementation could affect Ireland’s ability to seek further derogations in the future.
Domestic reactions divided
Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon has indicated that implementing AAs across Ireland's catchments is a "massive undertaking" requiring a significant investment of time and resources
Irish farming organisations have broadly welcomed the decision, arguing that the derogation remains critical to the economic viability of grass-based livestock systems and to Ireland’s agri-food export model. They have also highlighted the rising compliance costs faced by derogation farmers as evidence that environmental considerations are increasingly embedded in policy.
Environmental organisations, however, have criticised the extension. An Taisce described the decision as undermining efforts to restore water quality, arguing that existing evidence does not support continued elevated nitrogen loading in many catchments.
An Taisce legal challenge
Beyond the political decision in Brussels, a major source of uncertainty remains a legal challenge brought by An Taisce that is currently before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The case originated in the Irish High Court in 2022 and questions whether Ireland’s National Nitrates Action Programme was adopted in compliance with EU environmental law, including obligations under the Habitats Directive, the Water Framework Directive and the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive. The High Court referred key questions to the CJEU, where the case remains pending.
While the case does not directly challenge the Commission’s decision to grant the derogation, it goes to the legal foundations of Ireland’s nitrates framework. A ruling in favour of An Taisce could require Ireland to revisit parts of its nitrates regime and strengthen environmental assessments even while the derogation itself remains in force. The ruling may also have implications for the framework in play for other EU Member States.
Wider EU context
For Ireland, now the only Member State availing of a Derogation, the extension secures breathing space until 2028 but also places the spotlight firmly on delivery. Environmental performance, legal compliance, particularly around Appropriate Assessment, and the outcome of the An Taisce case are likely to play a decisive role in determining whether Ireland can continue to rely on a nitrates derogation in the longer term.