Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion
Dr. Eimear Cotter:
We are getting mixed up between monitoring and modelling. In monitoring, we are taking samples out of rivers and looking at what is in the water. We are analysing the samples in the laboratories to look at nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorous. We are reporting that, as outlined on page 11 of the report. The members will note that in the south and south east, there are nitrate levels that are too high and that have been growing on an upward trend. There has been a 25% increase in the midlands and the eastern region, for example, over the period 2013 to 2022. That is real data from monitoring. It is the bread and butter of what we do. In terms of the measures and the additional map-----
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