The Irish Farmers’ Association is demanding that the Department of the Taoiseach take control of the controversial nitrates action programme.
The proposal, which is more than a decade in preparation, is designed to improve the quality of drinking water, and seeks to impose curbs on the timing, storage and spreading of slurry.
Final proposals from this country will shortly be re-submitted to Brussels.
However, this afternoon the IFA leader, John Dillon, said a proper process must be re-established to resolve the issue within the framework of the national partnership agreement, Sustaining Progress.
Mr Dillon voiced his anger at the handling of the nitrates issue by the Departments of Agriculture and Environment.
He said the Department of the Environment has repeatedly frustrated the IFA's genuine attempts to agree a workable action programme. There has been no inclusive or partnership approach to the entire process, according to the IFA leader.
