Government accused of 'lobbying for water pollution'

Ottoline Spearman

The Government has been accused of "lobbying for water pollution".

It comes as the latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report showed that the quality of waterways in Ireland is falling.

Nearly half of surface waters are at an "unsatisfactory" standard - a two per cent increase on the previous report.

The report also found that nitrate concentrations are too high in 44 per cent of rivers sites studied and in many groundwaters.

Speaking on Newstalk, environmental journalist John Gibbons said the Government is choosing to ignore the impact excess agricultural nutrients are having on habitats: "If Ireland were serious about tackling water quality, for example, the Irish government wouldn't now be pleading for an extension of the nitrates derogation.

"A nitrates derogation, in simple terms, means the right to apply more nitrogen onto the land than the land can actually support.

"So essentially, we have the government lobbying here for water pollution."

The EPA conducted a three-year review of over 1,500 locations, and found decreases in phosphorous levels in areas prioritised for action.

But excess nutrients from agriculture, urban wastewater, and other human activities remain the biggest challenges.

Only half of rivers are in satisfactory ecological condition, and there has been no net improvement in river biological quality in recent years.

Further, 69 per cent of lakes are in satisfactory ecological condition; while only 36 per cent of estuaries are in satisfactory ecological condition.

While 81 per cent of coastal waters are in satisfactory ecological condition, there has been a significant decline (9.5 per cent) in those in satisfactory ecological condition.

Speaking on Newstalk, director of the EPA's Office of Evidence and Assessment, Dr. Eimear Cotter, said the quality of one type of water body in particular is very low: "Our estuaries in particular are struggling. There has been a lot of action and focus on water quality in the last number of years, but really disappointing.

"The actions need to be much deeper. We're not going in the right direction."