Michael Fitzmaurice urges common-sense use of farm exemptions

I wish you a happy Christmas and everyone here Minister I don't object to your plans there's a few queries I would have the agricultural side of it obviously I do welcome the exemptions because I think what I've listened to you earlier there's new regulations on soiled water and soiled water has to be collected now by farmers and the exemptions that they can put down a tank together that soiled water is a good, it's a help and hopefully they get a TAMS grant on it and that will help water quality right around the country, that's the bottom line the one part of it that I was just trying to fathom in my head a lot of the councils around the country when they're given exemptions they look at a situation where if there's an SAC or an NHA within 15 kilometres and if they start that crack on an exemption to be honest about there's been many parts of the country that will get the exemption and I would ask you or your department to give a direction to councils that common sense has to prevail here if you're putting down a tank you are actually saving soiled water going into a field or going somewhere that it shouldn't go or maybe going you know this is this is a good a good piece of legislation but it needs to be used in a common sense way by planners when they're looking at the exemptions and farmers have no problem in going for the exemption but I know in the west of Ireland there's a huge amount of areas that has designated areas SACs or NHAs and we don't want if you've got screening out and if you've got EIAs and appropriate assessments and the whole basis of what you're doing is to actually save it by having that tank then you're it's contradicting the whole legislation so the one thing I would ask you to do is with your department to make sure or give a direction to the councils I welcome the the sizes that's put in and this is a good thing for the country you know it's while it's an exemption for the agricultural sector this will help with water quality as you have outlined in your speech and the you know the changeover of buildings on the other parts of the legislation that you can put a pub or whatever into a residential property anything that will help housing is a good thing anything that will give a roof over a head of somebody's head is a good thing and I think we should welcome that and you know that people can do that and without going through maybe 8 or 10 weeks of rigorous planning and the Cree Coney for example has been you know I'd love to see it simplified I think it's all would a small bit the way we could speed it up but let's call it it's a good grant and you know you have to praise something that's good and be good enough to say that something is good sometimes the you know the one I would ask a minister and you might look at it and it's so frustrating for us 20 or 30 years ago and the submission that I put in or a document I sent into your department I wrote on it that if seven years is basically the time where you'd be you'd say if you had something compliance with planning if there was a non-compliance order on it but there was chimneys done in old houses there were the chimney was cracked and you took down the chimney and they put up slates normal things you'd do cop on is what I'd call it and they won't get an exemption because to anything compliance with the house that was built 150 years ago so that's where I would ask you to look at things like that but in fairness I welcome the legislation Thank you Deputy Deputy Richard O'Donnell