Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 February 2023
64. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications further to Parliamentary Question No. 128 of 18 January 2023, if he will provide an update on the matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5740/23]
View answerFollowing a further extension of the exemption for the burning of agricultural waste for one-year in early 2022 the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine (DAFM) agreed to commission a study to examine the sustainable management of agricultural green waste in Ireland. The completed study, which is available at gov.ie - Climate Change, Bioenergy & Biodiversity (www.gov.ie), was prepared by the Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA) and submitted to DAFM in November 2022.
In light of the conclusions and recommendations set out in the feasibility study, particularly relating to the fact that many farmers are mid-cycle in their burning process, it was decided that the existing exemption should be extended for a further two-month period until 1 March 2023 and again for a further three month period from 1 September 2023 to 30 November 2023. This will allow time for farmers to complete the current burning cycle, while providing proper wildlife protection during nesting season. It also allows for further engagement between my Department and DAFM to progress a number of the recommendations set out in the feasibility study around messaging, awareness, the further development of alternative means of disposal and the provision of best practice guidance to the farming community. The three-month period in late 2023 will, definitively, be the final extension granted under these Regulations.
The Waste Management (Prohibition of Waste Disposal by Burning) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 were signed into law on 27 January 2023. The regulations extend the exemption for the burning of green waste generated by agricultural practices, which expired on January 1, 2023, for a further two-month period to March 1, 2023, and then re-opens the exemption for a further three-month period from September 1, 2023, to November 30, 2023.
