The EPA early insight report into nitrogen concentrations in major rivers that was published in December 2024 shows that nitrogen concentrations in waters nationally reduced in the first half of 2024 relative to other years, and that they are at the lowest they have been since 2016.
This is the first positive sign from the EPA monitoring data that is hopefully an indication that the range of measures both regulatory and voluntary that have been implemented by farmers in recent years are beginning to deliver improvements in water quality. This is massively important news for farmers and the wider agriculture sector.
Yes, it is only an early insight report based on nitrogen concentration data from 20 representative river monitoring sites over a six monthly period from January to June 2024, but the data shows a marked improvement. Yes, we will have to wait until full national monitoring dataset is published in June 2025, but the signs are good.
This news is welcomed, and farmers are cautiously optimistic that the sector is on the right track, that the measures being implemented are working and that we will continue to see improvements in the coming years.
FARMERS HAVE TRANSFORMED PRACTICES AND MADE SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS
While there has been much negative talk about agriculture’s impact on water quality, it is important to recognise that farmers have transformed practices in recent years and made significant investments at farm level to comply with the ever increasing regulatory requirements under the Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) to deliver improvements in water quality. One example is the significant reduction in the use of chemical nitrogen fertiliser that has reduced by over 30 percent since 2018.
In addition, farmers are participating in voluntary programmes such as Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) a hugely successful collaborative initiative between government and industry to support the implementation of best practice at farm level in the Priority Action Areas (PAAs) as set out in Ireland’s River Basin Management Plan.
2024 saw a ramping up of voluntary programmes available to farmers such as the Farming for Water EIP and Waters for LIFE programmes that provides advisory and financial support to farmers to implement targeted measures beyond regulatory compliance.
There has been a considerable effort across the sector to increase awareness and understanding of the agriculture pressures on water quality. Campaigns such as the Teagasc Better Farming for Water – 8 Actions for Change campaign aims to support on-farm adoption on all farms to improve nutrient, farmyard and land management. While the new user-friendly EPA Targeting Agricultural Measures Mapping Tool has key information to help farmers learn about their local water quality and what action needs to be taken.
There have been significant learnings over the last number of years on the best approach to improve water quality. What is clear is farmers are engaged and willing to change practices and play their part when supported, and many are willing to go beyond regulatory compliance to deliver improvements to water quality.
Those measures to reduce nutrient losses need to be targeted, farmers must adopt the principle of the right measure in the right place at the right time. The blanket regulation approach is not effective to deliver improvements, measures must be targetted.
BUGBEAR OVER SLOW PROGRESS TO ADDRESS NON-COMPLIANCE IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS
It needs to be stated that a serious bugbear from farmers and the wider rural community when it comes to water quality, particularly given the scale of ambition and effort that is taking place within the agriculture sector, is the slow pace of progress to address non-compliance in the wastewater treatment plants.
The government needs to make this a national priority and massively increase investment to upgrade and modernise treatment plants as a matter of urgency.
Beyond finance, the planning and regulatory system needs to be amended to remove barriers and delays to the upgrades of plants.
Farmers are concerned that the lack of progress by the State, when it comes to addressing non-compliance wastewater treatment plants, will have serious repercussions for the agriculture sector and their business. Farmers must not pay for the lack of progress of the State.
This story was submitted by Mark Connors, IFA Environment Committee Vice Chair, in response to an opinion piece carried in our ExpressView column (page 20, The Munster Express, 7 January, 2025, ‘New government must clean our rivers, lakes and seas’).
