Results 1-20 of 2,125 for speaker:Paul Daly

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: I welcome the EPA officials this evening. Senator Lombard covered a lot of the direction I was going. I just have a couple of questions. I am aware the witnesses have responded to Deputy Mythen on the inspectors and that the EPA does not do policy or enforcement other than the inspections with the council. From our perspective, however, and for the purposes of the report this committee...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: Well, there can be enforcement. Enforcement is very much on the field of play. For the purposes of getting the information for our report, and we are keeping the derogation for the purpose of this conversation, what would the EPA like to see happen then? Given the reductions in emissions announced during the week, even with a growing population and an expanding economy, we can surely get...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: Going back to points made by other members on enforcement and inspections, what are the penalties? If non-compliance is found, are the local authorities and the EPA tied in with the Department of agriculture? Is it a penalty from the single farm payment or whatever? What are the penalties?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: In an earlier answer to the Chairman, Mr. Byrne said it was picking people for inspection based on water pressure points across the board and not just whether the farmer is derogation or non-derogation? Is it any farmer in an area where the EPA sees and highlights a water problem?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: I am aware we have been through this before but I would like some clarification. The EPA does actual physical water testing and water sampling but it also does a lot of modelling. In response to Senator Lombard, Dr. Cotter said the EPA would have a better idea next year because they would have the fertiliser database register. What influence should the fertiliser register have on a report...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: With the greatest respect I would expect the EPA to be able to answer the question I am asking. The EPA should be able to tell us from its water testing and sampling where it is happening. I thought this is how the process works.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: In the water it tests, has the EPA seen the correlation to the reduction that it knows through the data, though the registers or through purchase?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: That leads to my next question, which is about lag time. The EPA said earlier that it could be six months to a year before results would be seen in water from actions taken. I would like to get an idea of the timing going back to the derogation. What EPA report will be used in Brussels when the D day call about whether we get the derogation is made and when will the testing for the report...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: I am asking about the report.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: The point I am trying to make in a roundabout way, or perhaps I am not explaining myself well-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: Let us say the decision on the derogation is being made in July 2025. Brussels will probably work off the EPA report from June 2025, which will use the 2024 tests, which Dr. Cotter said earlier will probably not yet show improvements from actions taken a year earlier, in 2023. It will be hard. This is not a criticism. It is impossible on the day the decision is made to have up-to-date...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: The report will always be a year behind. It is not an issue. I just wanted to get my head around it for arguments going forward.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: The EPA published the 2023 data in June 2024. That is one lag I am talking about. We are working on 2023 tests in June 2024. That is the first time we see the results. If the tests were done in 2023 and Dr. Cotter says there is a lag time of between six months and a year needed for improvements to be seen, realistically we do not see the results of the 2023 actions until the 2024 tests....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: I am trying to get an angle on how close to D day the tests will have been done.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: I would like to get a better idea of how the EPA does its tests and reports. Deputy Fitzmaurice used the example of his river. Now, if I use mine, the River Brosna rises just outside Mullingar and flows into the River Shannon at Shannon Harbour. At how many different points along it would the EPA take water samples on a river that length? What would be the result given for that river?...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: I am just using that river as an example; it could be any river. The Brosna rises at Lough Owel and flows through Mullingar. It has gone through very little land. We would assume that if we took a sample of water from the river and tested it then, it would nearly have to be spot on. It then flows on through Kilbeggan into Clara and passes through more and more farmland and more and more...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: That would be along each river.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: It is done on each individual stretch of river.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: Are they reported as per each individual stretch-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Paul Daly: -----or as an overall figure for a particular river?