The Government is breaking the law by failing to inform the Oireachtas of a derogation it is seeking from an EU directive on the use of agricultural fertilisers, the Labour Party says.
Environment spokesperson Mr Eamon Gilmore said the European Union (Scrutiny) Act 2002 requires that a report be made to the Dáil when Government changes its policy in relation to EU directives.
Ireland is seeking a four-year extension to its opt-out from the EU Nitrates Directive that requires member states to limit the spreading of slurry and fertilisers on farmland. The proposed Irish limit is 210 kilogrammes per hectare.
The directive should have been made Irish law in 1995, but the Government is now seeking a formal derogation until 2008.
Mr Gilmore said the directive is not being implemented because "Irish agricultural practices in relation to the environment are well behind our European partners".
"This directive is of major consequence for the Irish environment as it limits the spread of fertilisers and slurry which are culpable for serious levels of water pollution," he said. Seeking another derogation means Ireland's rivers and lakes will continue to be contaminated leading to further fish-kills and continued instances of dangerous algae bloom, Mr Gilmore said.
The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that some public water supplies are consistently in breach of standards for nitrate pollution - in some cases contamination levels have reached 40 per cent.
The Minster for the Environment, Mr Cullen, should explain to the Oireachtas Environment Committee why Ireland wants another opt-out; why the Dáil was not informed and what he proposes to do agricultural contamination the water supply, Mr Gilmore said.