John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

Everything that is constructed for slurry storage capacity has to be done in accordance with Department of agriculture guidance that is in place. This is regardless of whether a farm is availing of a TAMS grant. That is there. On the nitrates regulations that are in place, there are setback distances in the same way there are for the housing of animals. With water quality in general, the EPA report that was published today shows that 52% are in compliance. At the same time, we did see some positive movement on the nitrates aspect within that, particularly in high-priority areas, including in my area of the south east and south west. We would expect to see a lot more of this improvement coming through in future reports because significant work has been done by farmers and by the agriculture sector in general in this space.