Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)

The Minister of State referred to a realistic yet stringent standard. I presume he will accept that it is deliberately a much less stringent standard than if those water bodies were not redesignated as highly modified water bodies.

The reply was in line with what I am saying. This is the Government throwing in the towel in respect of improving the quality of our water bodies. To quote Ms Joanna Braniff of the Rivers Trust, it shows there is no ambition for these rivers and that we are writing them off.

The Minister of State, as I heard the Taoiseach do earlier in the week, effectively tried to pass the buck to the EPA. He effectively misquoted what the EPA has done. The EPA carried out work in 2022 to identify candidates for this designation - it engaged with stakeholders - but it was not the final designation. It found bodies that could meet the designation but final designation is the job of the Department. In its letter to the Department on the issue, the EPA stated that it recommended consideration by the Minister of a number of issues as part of the final designation. It recommended that the Department "carry out a wider national policy review of whether the specified uses are appropriate during the 3rd river basin management planning cycle". It also recommended "that waterbody specific designation tests, that are informed by the policy review, should be carried out in due course". The Department has failed to do that.

The Minister of State referred to the change in these physical conditions based on expert judgment underpinned by new assessment tools. He is not saying that the Government has done that but that the EPA has done it. However, the EPA has not made its decision. This is a decision made by the Department.

The Minister of State made reference to arterial drainage. That is an outdated practice that can often lead to more flooding than would naturally occur. The main justification for exempting rivers from quality standards is highly questionable. It is in breach of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, which outlined that the Arterial Drainage Act is no longer fit for purpose. The Government is now using it as an excuse to lower the standards for our water.

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