The Taoiseach defended the non-adherence to nitrates in the Dáil today (Wednesday 17 June) after the Social Democrat leader claimed it was “simply not compatible with good water quality”.
Holly Cairns, TD for South West Cork, who is also a farmer and environmental campaigner, highlighted what she described in the Dail as “another damning report from the EPA on declining water quality in Ireland”.
The report released today shows that nutrient levels “remain too high in a large proportion of water bodies”.
According to the EPA, “excess nutrients,” especially nitrogen and phosphorus, from agriculture, poorly treated wastewater discharges and runoff from land remain the biggest challenges to overall water quality.
The Cairns MP told the Dáil that the Social Democrats were not attacking farmers, but also stated that the party did not believe “it is possible to spread disproportionate levels of nitrogen on the soil and keep our rivers clean, not when we all know that agricultural runoff is our biggest polluter”.
“This is not anti-farmer.
“It’s just a fact,” she added.
Water quality
According to the Taoiseach, regarding water quality “in terms of agriculture, there is a big problem there.”
This is despite the fact that there are a large number of initiatives, as he clearly explained, to help and support farmers to improve water quality.
This includes the €60 million Farming for Water programme, the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) involving Teagasc, Ireland’s dairy industry and the Local Authority Water Program (LAWPRO).
According to the Taoiseach, 5,500 farmers have applied for the EIP, and since 2015, nearly €200 million has been supported for investment in manure storage and Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) equipment.
He also supported the agricultural sustainability and advisory programme ASSAP will continue to provide free advice to farmers and there are also about 54,000 farmers participating in the Agricultural Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).
However, Rep. Cairns asserted that “agricultural drainage was responsible for pollution in approximately 1,000 bodies of water.”
She also said the government was “constantly fighting to derogate from Ireland so that it can apply more chemical applications to soils, which inevitably flow into rivers”.
In response, the Taoiseach told the Social Democrats leader that Ireland had an exception to the pesticide derogation because “our grass-based farming system is very different from systems across the continent”.
“About 7,000 farmers participated.
“These participating farmers are likely to have a higher and better record than those outside the exception,” he added.
But the Social Democrats were not the only ones who today objected to non-compliance with nitrates.
Green Party spokesman for nature, heritage and agriculture, Senator Malcolm Noonan, said the latest EPA report indicated a “failure in implementation”.
The senator also claimed that the recent water quality assessment was “an indication that maintaining the nitrate derogation was based on political maneuvering in Europe rather than on a scientific basis.”
Last December, when the European Commission extended Ireland’s nitrate exemption, it said the commission had worked closely with Irish authorities “in their plans to improve water quality”.
He explained, “On this basis, the Commission has now agreed to extend the exception.”
Likewise, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Haydon, said last December that “improving water quality is an important part of continuing to reach nitrate non-adherence.”
He warned that improving water quality should be a “priority” for farmers
But in the latest EPA report – Water Quality in 2025: Indicators Report – The message is stark.
“Water quality will not improve unless nutrient pollution is reduced.
“Currently, there is no clear sign of long-term decline in nutrient levels, making it unlikely that we will see meaningful improvements in water quality any time soon,” the EPA stated.
