Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 10 July 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed)
5:30 pm
Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I am thinking of the likes of the derogation. Let us think of a scenario whereby every farmer puts every drop of water they have into a tank and never puts out slurry.
Near me, in Ballymoe, County Galway, is one of the cleanest rivers - you can look it up - the Island River. There are monitoring stations along it. Unfortunately, a treatment plant was supposed to be done for the past seven, eight or ten years. When it comes to that point, the water quality is not as good. If it is contaminated, the water quality will not be as good and puts it down. When the EPA does an overall assessment of water quality in Ireland, I presume it states that the river is not in good condition, even though four fifths of it is. Is that fair to say?