Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Alan Farrell again for his comments and for his genuine interest in the issue of improving our water quality, which is a huge issue facing us all as citizens. The report marks a concerning change in direction in our water quality trends and it identifies the need to amplify and co-ordinate efforts across all sectors.

In particular we must increase efforts to address both diffuse pollution sources, such as nutrient losses from agriculture, and point sources, such as wastewater run-off. These are both, by their nature, challenging issues for us to address. I emphasise the Government's commitment to continuing to implement the actions in the River Basin Management Plan for Ireland 2018-2021. The new river basin management plan will build on this work and will put in place further measures to protect and improve water quality in rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries and coastal waters. Our wastewater system requires substantial and sustained investment of money to bring it up to the standards expected of a modern service, to provide for population growth and to build resilience in the face of climate change. Through the funding decisions it has already made since coming into office, this Government has shown that it is determined to provide investment to enable Irish Water to meet this huge task over the coming years.

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