Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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285. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if all agricultural land in Ireland could be designated as an ecologically sensitive area with regard to the EU water quality directive, given that the EU nitrates directive is applied on a State-wide basis, while other states have designated vulnerable zones under their respective plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43826/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The primary purpose of the Water Framework Directive is to;

‘Establish a framework for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater which includes preventing further deterioration and protecting and enhancing the status of aquatic ecosystems and, with regard to their water needs, terrestrial ecosystems and wetlands directly depending on the aquatic ecosystems.’

The Water Framework Directive includes the objective of achieving compliance with any standards and objectives established for protected areas designated under other separate directives and which are contained in the Article 6 register of protected areas.

This includes ‘nutrient-sensitive areas’, which are areas designated as vulnerable zones under the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) and areas designated as sensitive areas under the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC).

The Water Framework Directive does not have separate provisions for independently designating ‘ecologically sensitive areas’ beyond those listed in the Directive.