Shane McEntee (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 51: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the Environmental Protection Agency's report, Water Quality in Ireland 2001-2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22273/05]

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 138: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the measures he intends to take to reduce water pollution from municipal discharges following the EPA water quality report 2001-03 attributing most of the serious pollution in rivers and streams to such sources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22209/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 138 together.

The Environmental Protection Agency's report, Water Quality in Ireland 2001-2003, stated that the overall condition of Irish waters remains satisfactory and compares favourably with the position in other European countries. The report indicates that there is a further decline in the extent of serious pollution in rivers, a decline in the level of bacteriological contamination of ground water and that water quality is generally high in estuaries and coastal areas.

I welcome these positive findings of the report. Other findings of the report, however, are more mixed, such as the slight increase in the extent of river channel affected by pollution, the decrease in the number of bathing areas which comply with guideline values and the widespread intermittent contamination of ground waters with faecal coliforms. The report also confirms that eutrophication is extensive in surface waters and emphasises the need for control of nutrient losses from all sources.

It is right that all sources of pollution should be addressed, whether arising in agriculture, urban waste water, industry or any other activity. A wide range of measures is being progressed for this purpose, including a national nitrates action programme, to protect waters against pollution from agriculture, the comprehensive strengthening of river basin management in the context of implementation of the water framework directive and under the water services investment programme, which incorporates the rural water programme, regarding the treatment of waste water discharges and the provision of drinking water supplies.

In so far as waste water discharges are concerned, the EPA report points to the need for continued investment in the upgrading of our waste water treatment plants and makes reference to specific areas that merit ongoing attention, such as nutrient removal from waste water discharges and the need to address point source pollution from sewage treatment plants. In the region of €1.7 billion was invested in new waste water infrastructure under the national development plan in the four year period up to the end of 2004. As a result, enormous strides have been made in meeting our targets under the EU urban waste water treatment directive and in improving the quality of the receiving waters.

Compliance with the December 2005 deadline of the directive, which requires secondary treatment for discharges from agglomerations to a population equivalent of 2000 or more in the case of fresh or estuarial waters, stood at 25% at the start of the NDP. That has now risen to some 90%. All remaining schemes needed to achieve full compliance with the directive are included in my Department's water services investment programme, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library.

The increase in waste water treatment capacity in the 2001-04 period is equivalent to the needs of a population of some 2.9 million — seven times more than the increase achieved over the entire duration of the previous NDP from 1994 to 1999. The commitment in the programme for government for secondary waste water treatment facilities to be put in place for every location with a population of more than 1,000 is also now being implemented under the water services investment programme.

My Department is currently examining the EPA report with a view to identifying any municipal waste water discharges where investment in new or upgraded waste water infrastructure is required that has not already been provided for in the current phase of the water services investment programme. It should also be borne in mind that the EPA's water quality in Ireland report covers the period up to 2003 and does not take account of the many new waste water treatment plants that have been commissioned in the meantime.