Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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129. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps his Department is taking to deal with pollution in Lady's Island Lake; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36510/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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An action plan to address the challenges Lady's Island Lake is facing is being developed by Wexford County Council.

My officials are contributing to that and my Department is committed to fully engaging with the local authority, all state agencies and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage as we seek to address the challenges facing Lady's Island Lake.

The Nitrates Directive has the objective of reducing and preventing water pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources. It is implemented in Ireland through our Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) and the Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Waters (GAP) Regulations (SI 113 of 2022, as amended). The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage have responsibility for the NAP and my officials work closely with them on its development and implementation.

Under the current NAP, new and enhanced measures have been introduced since 2022 including a 10% reduction in the chemical nitrogen allowances for grassland, introduction of dairy banding, increased requirements for soiled water storage, requirements for shallow cultivation on tillage ground post-harvest and soil testing requirements for arable land. My Department has also introduced the National Fertiliser Database which now provides full recording of all chemical fertilisers from point of import through to end-user. In terms of compliance, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) are leading the new National Agricultural Inspection Programme which aims have the Local Authorities complete 4,500 targeted inspections regarding farmer compliance with the GAP Regulations this year. All of these measures are providing enhanced protections for water quality.

In addition to the NAP, a number of EU and nationally funded schemes benefit water quality by incentivising farmers to go above and beyond minimum regulatory requirements. These schemes include the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS), the Multi-Species Sward Measure, the Red Clover Silage Measure and most importantly the Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP) which is co-funded between my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.