Waterways paying 'high price' for nitrates derogation - TD
The government cannot continue to take a "head in the sand approach" to high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous in Irish rivers and waterways, according to Social Democrats TD, Jennifer Whitmore.
Deputy Whitmore, who is the party’s environment spokesperson, was responding to the latest water quality monitoring report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).She said: “The EPA has warned that nitrate concentrations remain too high in many parts of the country, particularly in the south and south-east regions.
"According to the report, nutrient losses from agriculture are one of the significant drivers for waterways not meeting their environmental objectives under the Water Framework Directive.
“I have previously called for government responses to EPA water quality reports but there has been no sense of urgency in dealing with this crisis. The sad reality is that environmental issues are not taken seriously by this or previous governments," the TD added.
Ireland’s nitrates derogation allows farmers to farm at higher stocking rates, above 170kg livestock manure nitrogen/ha up to 250kg nitrogen/ha.
This is subject to additional conditions designed to protect the environment.
The Social Democrats representative has called for a "major rethink" on the nitrates derogation, with support and advisory guidelines for farmers during the weaning off process to help them adapt to more sustainable practices.
"Increased funding for agri-environmental initiatives should also be allocated – as long as they are managed better than the existing ACRES [Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme], which has seen unacceptable payment delays to participating farmers," she added.
“The environmental destruction of Lady’s Island Lake in Wexford is just one glaring example of the damage being caused by the derogation – but this is happening in our rivers and waterways all over the country.
“It is hardly surprising that Ireland is set to miss EU and national targets for restoring water bodies to good status by 2027.“Continued government inaction is undermining Ireland’s environmental commitments – and our rivers and seas are paying the price," Whitmore said.
Earlier this year, scientists sounded the alarm on the declining ecological state of Lady’s Island Lake in Co. Wexford, where the same toxic blue-green algae blooms evident on Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland were detected in growing volumes.
A EPA report, titled ‘Coastal Lagoons: Ecology and Restoration (CLEAR)’, found that the ecology of the brackish Co. Wexford lake has been “severely damaged by nutrient over-enrichment”, resulting in harmful algal blooms and fish kills.
