The European Commissioner for Environment and Water Resilience Jessika Roswall will host a 'roundtable' meeting of stakeholders involved in water quality on the topic of 'Water, Agriculture and the Food Supply Chain' today (Tuesday, March 25).

This will be the first of three stakeholder meetings hosted by Commissioner Roswall.

The next meeting, on Thursday (March 27), will be on 'Water and Industry', while the final meeting on Friday (March 28) will be on the topic of 'Water and Finance'.

The purpose of the meetings is to discuss the upcoming European Water Resilience Strategy.

The strategy is set to address water efficiency, scarcity, pollution, and water-related risks, the European Commission said.

It will also aim to enhance competitiveness and innovation in the water industry; develop clean technology; take a circular economy approach; and will include proposals to digitalise water management.

The commission said that, during the first roundtable on water, agriculture and the food supply chain, the discussions will focus on how the agriculture and food sectors can contribute to strengthening water resilience, in particular key water challenges and concrete action needed at the EU level.

Participants will also be invited to share their experiences with water management, business and innovation.

The second roundtable on water and competitiveness in European industry will focus on how industry can contribute to strengthening water resilience.

During the final roundtable on investing in water resilience, participants will exchange views on how investment needs related to strengthening water quality can be addressed.

This is set to include discussions on private investment in water infrastructure and the financing of new technologies that need to be deployed on a wider scale.

Commenting on the series of meetings, Commissioner Roswall said: "Water challenges cross borders, industries and sectors. So must the solutions. By bringing stakeholders to the table, we can spark innovation and turn challenges into opportunities.

"The Water Resilience Strategy will be the beginning of a journey; we will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to turn water resilience into reality. Every drop counts and so does every perspective," she added.

On water quality issues closer to home, a report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), published last week was broadly welcomed by the Irish agri-sector.

One Irish MEP said that the report showed that the efforts of farmers to reduce nitrates levels in water are “starting to pay off”.

Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher called for an end to what he called the “demonisation” of farmers following the publication of the report, which said nitrogen levels in Irish rivers are at their lowest level in eight years.

“Anti-farmers have used rising nitrogen levels in Irish waters to try and beat up Irish agriculture and, in particular, the dairy sector. This needs to stop,” the Fianna Fáil MEP said.

Also last week, senior management at Tirlán met with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon to highlight the importance of retaining Ireland’s nitrates derogation, which will depend heavily on Ireland's water quality and nitrates trends.

During the meeting with Minister Heydon, Tirlán chair John Murphy highlighted a range of issues, including the retention of the derogation.

“This year is of vital importance for both farming and the rural economy, with the European Commission due to make a decision on the retention of the current derogation in the coming months,” he said.