Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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People involved in the farming groups, including one in Senator Paul Daly's county, and farmers around the country are watching a lot of what is going on and are getting proactive. There seems to be considerable runoff. When you see green grass growing behind a sewage treatment plan, you know that something is coming out, to put it simply. The farming community is sending us photos, day in and day out, taken near sewage treatment plants around the country. Farmers have got proactive in watching these developments. I am talking about phosphorous. There was clear water before the treatment plants but it is not looking so good now. We can send those photos to the EPA. In many treatment plants in this country, the more it rains, the fewer the number of loads that are taken out. The finer the weather, the more loads are taken out. The EPA is supposed to be monitoring. Lorries go into sewage treatment plants and suck out from the tanks. Ironically, the more it rains, the fewer the number of loads. The EPA gets reports from Uisce Éireann. The EPA can see the numbers of loads that are moved from one place to another treatment plant to be sorted. That data is there. In many places, movement of loads has to happen and the EPA has this data. July of last year, for example, was very wet. Why are fewer loads taken out when there is more water flying around the place and coming through wastewater, storm water and foul water than is the case during dry weather? Can the witnesses answer that question?