Mr. Darragh Page:

In its simplest terms, the risk-based approach involves determining whether there is something that might have an impact on the quality of drinking water in the catchment, treatment process or distribution network. Once it is identified, it is a matter of deciding what one is going to do to deal with the risk and ensure it will not become a reality.

On the Commission's interpretation, it has pushed the risk-based approach to monitoring and is not considering the wider risk-based approach. For example, it is requiring the monitoring of microcystin which is blue-green algae in all water supplies, even though it occurs only in supplies that originate from lakes. It cannot occur in groundwater. Therefore, there is an issue with how the directive has been written in that context.

Let me refer to some of the other questions asked in so far as they pertain to the EPA. As to why the Commission has opted for standards that are different from those of the WHO, we are really not clear at this stage. At the recent meeting many member states were quite surprised that the Commission had taken the approach it had. In fact, the WHO's representative made a point of stressing that the recommendations applied were not the WHO's recommendations. We are not quite clear on the reason. The Commission seems to have taken a precautionary approach with many of the standards and in including some of the standards that have been included. In failing to remove some of the ones where clearly there is no possibility of the presence of certain contaminants in the water supply, the precautionary approach has been taken.

A question was asked about the quality of drinking water in Ireland. The EPA publishes a report every year that examines all of the monitoring carried out by Irish Water and local authorities of private water supplies. What we have seen is that microbiological compliance is very high in the public water supply system. The level is 99.9% and the figure has improved dramatically in the past ten to 15 years. The level of chemicals compliance is relatively high, but we do have a problem with trihalomethanes, a disinfectant by-product of the reaction of chlorine with coloured water. We are seeing improvements, but it is still an issue. An issue will definitely arise under the directive if the standard for chlorate is put at 0.25. We will have significant difficulties in complying with the directive in using chlorate simply because of the amount of chlorine that needs to be used in treating surface water supplies. It is a particular problem in Ireland because we have the highest proportion of water which comes from rivers and lakes by comparison with any other European country. Most European countries use groundwater predominantly.