Dr. Eimear Cotter:

The question the Deputy is asking is how do we know our water monitoring is representative of what is happening across the country. We have the second-highest density as regards the design and distribution of our sites across the country. That is regularly reviewed by the Commission under the water framework directive and under the nitrates directive. The Commission looks at this to make sure that every country's data are comparable and consistent so that, when one country is compared with another, each tells an accurate story as to what is happening. It runs to the heart of our monitoring that what we are seeing from our points around the country give us an accurate picture. We are monitoring 3,000 water bodies. That gives us an extremely dense network and an extremely high-quality picture of what is happening in the country. With regard to frequency, Dr. Deakin has outlined the frequency of our monitoring.

I would point out that we may miss something with regard to the biology. Something might be released and then wash through. The biology is a really important part of our monitoring. It tells us what is happening with regard to the life in the water, including macrophytes and algae. We look at that constantly.

That gives an integrated picture. If something is being polluted periodically or if there is a large episode, we will see it either through our nutrient - nitrogen and phosphorous - monitoring or through the biology. They will be aligned. The biology gives us the overall picture. The Deputy can be assured that this gives us a very high-quality picture as to what is happening in terms of water quality in Ireland from the range of parameters we measure.