EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Chapter 16: Conclusions NUMBER CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS Water (1) Ireland has seen a continuing decline in high status water bodies and an increase in the number of water bodies in poor ecological health. Even more stark is the dramatic reduction in the number of our most pristine rivers, which have fallen in 30 years from over 500 sites in 1990 to only 20 sites in 2020. Rapid action is needed to protect our remaining pristine sites before they are lost. More urgent focus also needs to be given to protecting our estuaries, as these water bodies have the worst status overall and specific measures for their improvement and protection should be identified and implemented. Water (2) The decline in river water quality is being driven primarily by nutrient pollution coming from agriculture and wastewater systems. Fertiliser spreading, slurry spreading and other nutrient losses that are causing pollution need to be covered by tighter measures in the next River Basin Management Plan and Nitrates Action Programme. Irish Water must ensure that the necessary wastewater infrastructure is in place and is not causing pollution, as legally required in EPA authorisations. Water (3) Overall, water quality has declined in Ireland, despite the actions taken to date to reverse this trend. Continued targeted action at local water catchment level that is based on science is key to improving water quality. The Local Authority Waters Programme and Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme have key roles in implementing this targeted action and providing guidance at water catchment and farm levels to improve water quality. There also needs to be a national focus on measures to deliver solutions that protect and restore all water bodies. Marine (1) Ireland’s marine waters are clean and reasonably healthy but not as biologically diverse and productive as they could be. They are affected by several human-induced pressures, including fishing, climate change and marine litter such as plastics. Marine (2) The area covered by Marine Protected Areas needs to be expanded significantly to meet the international requirement to conserve 10 per cent of all coastal and marine areas, rising to 30 per cent in future targets under the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030. The expansion will promote the remediation of environmental damage and the protection of marine ecosystems and biodiversity. Marine (3) As an island nation with an extensive marine area, Ireland needs to ensure that robust governance and legal frameworks are in place to protect marine ecosystems and the services they provide to society. There needs to be governance systems in place that coordinate and integrate the implementation of directives where there are crossovers, such as those covering marine strategy, marine spatial planning, water quality, waste, biodiversity and protecting fish stocks. Waste (1) Ireland needs to do more to prevent waste at all stages of a product’s life cycle, incentivise reuse and repair, increase recycling and extract the maximum resources from waste that cannot be recycled. Implementing the policy initiatives under the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy will be central to delivering the systemic changes needed. Waste (2) Strong, consistent, multi-agency enforcement and campaigns to change public behaviour are needed to effectively target littering in urban and rural areas, to prevent waste crime and to ensure that those who break the law are held accountable. Waste (3) How we manage and recycle our waste needs to be reviewed. Municipal and packaging waste recycling rates have stagnated or declined but improved segregation of kerbside bins could bring about significant improvement in rates. Landfill and waste-to-energy treatment in Ireland is at capacity and the country is highly dependent on export markets to treat residual, recyclable and hazardous wastes. We need to build in resilience to Ireland’s waste management capacity in the event of emergencies. 451