Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

Non-governmental organisations are there for legitimate reasons and are entitled to advocate. However, just because they say something, we should not, herd-like, all agree with what they say. We need more intelligent and informed debate. The Deputy referred to the Fianna Fáil housing Department. The Environmental Protection Agency completed a consultation on characterising heavily modified water bodies in 2022. The Department then conducted an eight-week consultation on designating heavily modified water bodies, which closed on 23 May. This is well known; it was a public consultation. The Deputy said it just emerged. It did not just emerge; it was a public consultation. The concept has been misinterpreted. It does not condemn any water body to a decline in water quality. The modifications proposed for designation are in place to support stipulated specified uses, namely drinking water supplies, flood protection, land drainage and navigation. It is not a lower standard that is the objective; it is a more realistic target accounting for the modifications necessary to provide a societal benefit of their specified use.

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