The Taoiseach defended the nitrates derogation in the Dáil today (Wednesday, June 17) after the Social Democrats leader claimed it was "simply incompatible with good water quality".

The TD for Cork South-West, Holly Cairns, who is also a farmer and an environmentalist, highlighted what she described in the Dáil as "another damning report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Ireland's declining water quality".

The report released today shows nutrient levels "remain too high in a large proportion of water bodies".

According to the EPA "excess nutrients" particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, from farming, poorly treated wastewater discharges and runoff from land remain the greatest challenges to overall water quality.

Deputy Cairns told the Dáil that the Social Democrats were not attacking farmers but also stated that the party does not believe "it is possible to spread disproportionate levels of nitrogen on soil and keep our rivers clean, not when we all know that agricultural run-off is our biggest pollutant".

"It is just fact," she added.

Water quality

According to the Taoiseach in relation to water quality "in terms of agriculture, there is a significant issue there".

This is despite the fact, as he clearly outlined, that there are a significant number of initiatives in place to help and support farmers to improve water quality.

This includes the €60 million Farming for Water, European Innovation Partnership (EIP) which involves Teagasc, Dairy Industry Ireland, and the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO).

According to the Taoiseach 5,500 farmers have applied to the EIP and since 2015 close to €200 million has supported investment in manure storage and low-emission slurry-spreading equipment (LESS).

He also said the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) will continue to provide free advice to farmers and that there are also about 54,000 farmers taking part in the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).

However Deputy Cairns maintained that "agricultural run-off was responsible for pollution in approximately 1,000 water bodies".

She also said the government "consistently fights for a derogation for Ireland to be able to apply more chemical applications to the soil, which inevitably run off into the rivers".

In response the Taoiseach told the Social Democrats leader that Ireland has a ntirates derogation because "our grass-based farming system is much different to systems across the continent".

"Those participating farmers probably have a higher and better record than those outside the derogation," he added.

But it was not just the Social Democrats who took issue today with the nitrates derogation.

The Green Party spokesperson for Nature, Heritage and Agriculture, Senator Malcolm Noonan, said the latest EPA report points to "a failure in enforcement".

The senator also claimed the latest water quality assessment was "an indication that retention of the nitrates derogation was grounded in political manoeuvring in Europe and not in science".

Last December when the European Commission extended Ireland's nitrates derogation it said that the commission had worked closely with the Irish authorities "on their plans to improve water quality".

"It is on this basis that the commission now agreed to extend the derogation," it outlined.

Similarily the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon said back in December that “improving water quality is a critical part of continued access to the nitrates derogation". 

He warned that it had to be a "priority" for farmers to improve water quality

But in the latest EPA report - Water Quality in 2025: An Indicators Report - the message is stark.

"Right now, there is no clear sign of long‑term reductions in nutrient levels, making it unlikely that we will see meaningful improvements in water quality anytime soon," the EPA stated.