Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. It is clear from recent EPA reports that water quality trends need to change, particularly, but not solely, in respect of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, being lost from farmlands into our rivers, lakes and coastal areas. I concur with the Senator's view in respect of the farming community, the members of which are doing great work that is hugely important to our sector. As I say, it is all about water quality and not about any particular sector.

Inspection and enforcement is only one part of a wider compliance assurance system. For example, apart from inspection we need to ensure there is knowledge and acceptance of the rules. However, inspection, the possibility of detection of pollution and appropriate sanctions are important factors in protecting water quality.

In March 2022, the fifth nitrates action programme was published. It committed to increasing Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine inspections and to developing an enhanced local authority inspection and enforcement programme, to which the Senator made reference. The Department will increase its inspection of intensive derogation farms from 5% to 10% of farms.

Within the local authority sector, this resulted in the establishment of the local authority national agricultural inspection programme, which is an inspection and enforcement programme, managed and co-ordinated by local authorities with guidance and oversight from the EPA. The EPA is responsible for providing guidance for local authorities on targeting inspections where water quality is impacted or at risk of being impacted from agriculture, tracking the progress of the programme and ensuring that appropriate guidance and training are provided to local authority inspectors.

To ensure the resources are in place for this programme, my Department has been working with the City and County Managers Association, CCMA, to identify the existing local authorities’ resources available to undertake agricultural inspections and follow-up enforcement, and to determine the additional staffing resources required to deliver the target of over 4,000 inspections per year. As part of this process, the CCMA has undertaken a review of resources for agricultural inspections and enforcement in each local authority to assess existing resources and skill sets, and to identify additional staffing requirements.

Prior to completion of the review, in 2022 my Department allocated funding of €50,000 to ten local authorities to support the programme. The review has identified that 57 additional staff are required. My Department has taken the review findings on board and, as an initial step, has allocated funding to 17 local authorities to recruit 21 additional inspection posts under the programme. This funding came from the existing departmental budget for 2023. Sanction for funding of additional posts will be examined within the context of the Estimates process leading up to budget 2024.

This is an issue my Department takes seriously. We work in collaboration with the CCMA, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the EPA. Technical advice comes from the EPA. As it stands, of the 57 additional staff, we have given funding to recruit 21. As part of the budgetary process, we will be looking to follow up on the additional staff who have been identified by the review programme carried out by the CCMA.