Ms Sharon Finegan:

The Chair's question was on what is driving the deterioration of water quality. Nitrogen losses to water really is the key issue. Those losses constitute the most significant concern and our estuaries are in the poorest condition overall. Only 38% of those meet water quality targets. The concept of nitrogen loss is where nitrogen applied to the ground seeps through the soil and into the water table. Those losses have been increasing since 2013, which means that we are seeing an increasing negative trend in that regard. They come mainly from agriculture, as a result of the use of chemical fertiliser and organic manures, but also, to a lesser extent, from urban wastewater. The key areas in which we see those water issues are in the south and south east, which are the areas with the highest levels of intensive farming practices. We can see the impact on a catchment basis. This comes back to the point I made earlier about a catchment-based approach. These are the areas in which we can see the biggest impact on water quality.