Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

212 Chapter 8: Water Key chapter messages 1. There needs to be immediate, substantial and sustained reductions in nitrogen pollution, especially in catchments of concern in the south and south-east, to prevent any further deterioration in the quality of our estuaries and coastal waters. Targeted measures to reduce phosphate run-off could deliver significant improvements in inland waters and offer multiple benefits for climate and biodiversity. 2. We need to see full implementation of existing environmental legislation and high compliance rates across all regulated activities. A regulatory regime to address activities that impact hydromorphology is also required. All measures must be sufficiently targeted to the water quality issue and location to ensure that they deliver improvements. 3. Water governance structures need to be reviewed to ensure that they operate effectively. Detailed tracking and reporting of measures in Ireland’s Water Action Plan 2024 is required to improve accountability among implementing bodies, public access to information and, ultimately, Ireland’s water quality. 4. It is essential to build climate resilience into water quality management and into water services. Plans - such as the Water Action Plan, the Water Quality and Water Services Climate Adaptation Plan, and Uisce Éireann’s National Water Resources Plan - are key to identifying risks and adaptation measures.