Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will not swear blind that I do not have a notification in my inbox but most Deputies have more to be doing than watching their inbox all day long. If it has arrived, I certainly have not seen it.

This is a welcome opportunity to discuss another in a series of excellent reports from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, detailing our water quality. The latest is titled, Urban Waste Water Treatment in 2022. Broadly-speaking, the EPA has been doing an excellent job in assessing the quality of water in our rivers, lakes, streams, groundwater and seawater, and even the water in our taps, which, by extension, finds its way into our bodies. The EPA report is focused on urban wastewater treatment.

It is shocking that we are still not reaching the standards of the urban wastewater treatment directive, which we are supposed to have been complying with for the past 30 years. Raw sewage from the equivalent of 54,000 people is still being discharged in 26 towns and villages because these areas are not connected with treatment plants. The factoid that jumps out from the report is that the volume of raw sewage discharged could fill three Olympic-size swimming pools a day. That is not a place I would necessarily like to swim.

We also have to acknowledge that many so-called "primary" treatment plants are not living up to their name. In fact, the EPA states that over half of Ireland's wastewater discharges are not meeting EU standards for protecting the environment. If the Minister doubts that, he can come down to Bunmahon in Waterford where, mar dhea, we have a primary treatment plant that is supposedly treating the sewage. If he were to check the outlet pipe there, he would not find it a pleasant experience. It is certainly not doing the job it needs to do.

The report also identifies an issue with storm water. Unfortunately, storm-type weather will become more prevalent and more common. At the end of 2022, Uisce Éireann had assessed 1,735 of its storm water overflow structures. There were no assessments completed during 2022. I do not know the reason for that. Over 400 of the overflows assessed did not meet the national standards and require improvement. We could point to Blackrock in Dublin if we were looking for an example of a place which is regularly overwhelmed by storm flow. I would not have to travel outside of Tramore. In fact, at the bottom of my road, the inadequate treatment of storm water often results in an overflow that discharges directly beside the wall of Tramore pier. It is not a pleasant sight.

The EPA report identifies key priorities and challenges. We have to comply with EU treatment standards. We have to eliminate raw sewage discharges. It is amazing, in this day and age, that I need to utter such a sentence. We must improve our collecting systems, that is, sewers, prevent pollution of our inland and coastal waters and protect vulnerable habitats.

The report includes a summary of key recommendations. The EPA recommends that we resolve the environmental issues for each priority area set out in the report; operate all treatment systems effectively to get the best from them, minimise breakdowns and prevent any deterioration in performance; and complete the overdue impact assessments for shellfish waters. The latter would affect Dungarvan in my constituency.

What plans does the Government have to respond to this and other excellent reports from the EPA?

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