Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 10 July 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed)

5:30 pm

Dr. Jenny Deakin:

There is a mix of issues in the counties in the west compared to the south east. Nitrates are typically high in the south, south east and east. There is a mix of pressures in counties in the west. There is an agricultural contribution, although it is not necessarily related to the level of intensity of farming. We had a bit of this earlier with regard to one of the earlier questions. The issue with phosphorous is more about the poorly drained soils and the run off bringing the sediment and phosphorous from what are sometimes very low stocked farms. It is not a stocking rate relationship. It is more about-----