Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is a role and responsibility for all sectors. Nitrates is obviously primarily an agricultural issue. Phosphorous is primarily an urban waste issue in terms of its contribution in impacting water quality. We must also be careful in how we manage our forestry. Our new forestry plan and programme, which we have just initiated, is very much conscious of this and of buffers being in place in terms of having a mix of trees, including native broadleaf and Sitka spruce and other conifers.

It is important to get the right balance and to have both. I agree that we must ensure that people are fully aware of all potential impacts on water quality and take full mitigation measures to make sure that water quality is not impacted.