Dr. Tom Ryan:

I really appreciate the Senator's comments and her passion for water quality. The primary role of the EPA is to set out what the environmental parameters are. Those can be about drinking water, and in that area the parameters are around ensuring our water is free of the kind of harmful bugs that caused problems when they got into the system in Gorey. It is also about minimising harmful disinfectant by-products. These are what we call the trihalomethanes. Eliminating lead from our networks is another aspect, as is preventing pesticides from entering our systems. On the drinking water side, these are the priorities we advocate which are incorporated into the infrastructural spending plans of Irish Water, which are financed by Government and will be rolled out over the next few years.

Similarly, on the wastewater side our role is again to identify what the priorities are so they can be incorporated into Irish Water's investment plans. On that side, we are talking about ensuring Ireland complies with the urban wastewater treatment directive, that there is the elimination of discharges of raw sewage into the environment, that inland and coastal waterways at risk from urban wastewater discharges are protected and that the non-compliant wastewater collection systems are dealt with. The latter is a massive issue for the next number of years. We should not forget issues like the precious, endangered pearl mussel that is trying to survive in waters at risk of pollution by sewage. Our bread and butter is to call out the priorities and try to ensure they are incorporated into Irish Water's investment plans over the next number of years.