Results 1,581-1,600 of 7,985 for speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: No. Just tell me how many are done monthly. That is all I want to know. What is the figure again? Is it 3,200 or-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: What is the reason the other 300 are not monitored? Can Dr. Deakin explain that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: How many did Dr. Deakin say were monitored monthly?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I will ask Dr. Deakin to explain this to me because I want to get my head around it. Is it fair to say that the EPA puts the 179 river water bodies into what we will call tier 1? For what are they monitored 12 times a year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Is there then a three-year test?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: That relates to the 179 water bodies. Will Dr. Deakin tell me about the other 2,721?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Is that for the 2,700?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Some 2,400 are monitored.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: To put it simply for people who are listening in, are 2,429 rivers monitored?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: It is just so people know because the term "water bodies" might put them off. Is it approximately 800 that are not monitored?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Is it fair to say that 179 of those are priority?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Are they done monthly and three-yearly?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Are the other 2,211 done four times a year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Is that for the 2,200?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I will move on to the criteria that apply. I am involved in a group water scheme. Over a period of 20 years I have seen the level and threshold to comply with EU rules, and the different things that have to be tested for, go up. We have to comply with a higher EU standard now. Is that the same for the EPA?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The EPA is looking at the same thing. Is it fair to say - Senator Lombard raised this issue - that rivers have improved in areas where there is a high level of derogation? That is going by the figures we have seen.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: It is down south in Cork. What is the name of the area?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Given that there is a high rate of derogation in the area, how did the rivers improve if farmers are such culprits?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Unfortunately, we all know a lot of towns that do not have sewage treatment plants. There could be a river that meanders through farmland and forests. I know the EPA would be looking at the different water bodies. Can it distinguish between what comes out of a septic tank and the different types of nitrogen? Can it distinguish between those to a degree that is foolproof?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality Monitoring Report: Discussion (19 Jul 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: It can.