Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

28 Chapter 1: Introduction Figure 1.3  Restored landfill near Cork City Focusing on changes in environmental indicators over the past 25 years or so in areas where there are more reliable environmental data yields interesting results (Table 1.1). There has been a large decrease in the number of discharges of untreated sewage in the past 20 years. Investment in waste water treatment infrastructure continues to bring improvements for our environment via fewer untreated waste water discharges, but it is concerning that Ireland has still not met all its obligations under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (Council Directive 91/271/EEC), and raw sewage continues to be discharged to our waters. Our air quality has improved significantly. Following on from bans on smoky coal and leaded petrol in the 1980s more stringent industrial regulation has seen air pollutants from combustion sources significantly reduced (primarily due to fuel switching in power generation and other industrial sectors). In terms of waste management our dependence on landfill has been significantly reduced to three operational landfills at present, down from 35 in 2002 and 125 in 1996. Many of these historical waste disposal sites have been restored and transformed into amenity areas for the local community (Figure 1.3). Municipal waste generation has increased in the past 20 years, and an additional 2 million tonnes of municipal waste is recovered (Table 1.1). Bathing water quality has remained of very high quality. However, over the past two decades, Ireland has consistently reported one of the highest incidences of serious gastrointestinal illness caused by a strain of E. coli (STEC/VTEC), which is of particular concern because of the high proportion of rural dwellers who rely on private wells. We have established a prosperous nation and economy; however, this success has been heavily dependent on our environmental resources, particularly in sectors such as tourism, agriculture and industry. Consequently, we have depleted these finite resources to some extent. The combination of a growing economy and an increasing population will continue to exert pressure on the environment. In light of these circumstances, it is imperative that we make substantial investments in key infrastructure to prioritise environmental protection as a cornerstone of our future development.