EU court judgments on directives ‘undermining farm viability’
Farmers are “fully committed” to environmental protection, but the application of EU law can be “overly precautionary", according to the Irish Farming Association's (IFA's) Environment chair John Murphy.
Murphy made these comments while representing Copa (Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations) at an Implementation Dialogue event hosted by EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall and EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen.
The event was held to discuss the on-the-ground impact of the Nitrates Directive, Water Framework Directive, and the Birds and Habitats Directives.
In December 2025, the European Commission put forward its proposed environmental simplification package, The Environmental Omnibus.
The commission said at the time: "The measures proposed...are set to facilitate the implementation of existing laws and the achievement of environmental objectives, while at the same time reducing unnecessary bureaucracy for businesses, including farmers and SMEs, and boosting the single market."
‘Fully committed’
At the recent dialogue, Murphy said farmers are “fully committed” to environmental protection but added that the “overly precautionary application of EU law is placing disproportionate costs and burdens on farmers, with too little regard for the socio-economic reality on the ground”.
He added: “Progressive court judgments in the birds, habitats and nitrates directives have created massive uncertainty, imposed increasing costs and, in some instances, prevented normal farm practices and development.
“This is undermining farm viability, and the uncertainty is discouraging a new generation from entering the sector.”
Murphy said the dialogue provided an “important opportunity” for the commissioners to hear directly from farmers about their practical experiences on the ground of dealing with environmental regulation.
He said: “Farmers are struggling with increasing complexity and uncertainty around legal interpretations, a lack of clarity and guidance, and an over-precautionary approach in decision-making.
“This has massively increased the cost of doing business and made it extremely difficult to plan or invest in normal farm development.”
Murphy said the current environmental regulatory system requires “urgent reform”, adding that “it is now being viewed by many farmers as a system designed to control and limit production rather than genuinely deliver environmental outcomes”.
As part of the IFA’s ongoing efforts to simplify regulations through constructive engagement with the European Commission, IFA deputy president Alice Doyle met with Eric Mamer, director-general of the Directorate-General (DG) for Environment, in Brussels last week through Copa Cogeca.
Doyle said: “Our engagement with DG Environment in relation to environmental files affecting farmers including simplification of the Nitrates and Habitats Directive and the Nature Restoration Law remain a core IFA priority”.
