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Levels were still too high in the dairy farming heartland of the south east. Alamy Stock Photo

EPA reports 'welcome reduction' in nitrogen pollution in rivers

Ireland’s derogation from EU nitrates limits is a hot political issue.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL WATCHDOG said there was a “welcome reduction” in nitrogen levels in rivers last year – although levels were still too high in the dairy farming heartland of the south-east.

The news  from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Early Insights Nitrogen Indicator for 2024 is already being greeted by politicians advocating for the farming sector as a sign that the industry was “on the right track” in response to environmental concerns.

Irish farming is facing changes to its derogation from EU nitrates limits – a significant political issue for recent governments.

Ireland is one of three EU countries with a derogation, which allows farmers to keep denser herds.

Denmark and Netherlands are the other two with the legal exceptions, but the Irish Farmers Journal reported this week that the former will not be renewing theirs.

Farmers have previously warned that they will struggle if the derogation is cut as planned.

Nitrates are commonly used in fertilisers and in excessive amounts can cause damage to Ireland’s rivers – something which the EPA has increasingly pointed to as a major factor in the quality of Ireland’s water.

In today’s report, the EPA said that it remains the case that “agriculture is the primary source of nitrogen in our waters”, and acknowledged that “significant” actions are underway by the sector to reduce this.

It said ongoing and sustained actions will be needed to reduce nutrient levels so that the ecological health of our waters can improve.

However, the EPA warned: “Despite the reduction, nitrogen remains too high in the southeastern half of the country and further reductions will be needed to bring them to satisfactory levels.”

EPA programme manager Jenny Deakin said that the changes were positive and needed to improve Ireland’s ecological system.

“It is very positive to see this improvement in nitrogen levels in 2024, following a period of little positive change in recent years.

However, nitrogen levels remain too high in the southeastern half of the country. Further actions will be necessary to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus losses to levels which will support good ecological health in our water bodies.

Deakin added: “The ecology will not improve until nutrient levels are reduced in the areas where they are elevated. The EPA will be reporting on the ecological health of our waters later in 2025.”

Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher welcomed the report, adding that the “demonisation of Ireland’s dairy farmers can now stop”.

He added that the industry has “done everything that has been asked of them in terms of mitigating the effects of dairy farming” on the Irish environment.

Eimear Cotter, Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment, said it was important that the sector “builds on this momentum and continues to implement actions” to reduce nutrient losses in a targeted way.

The Early Insights Nitrogen Indicator 2024 report is available here.

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    Mute Kieran Conroy
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    Mar 19th 2025, 11:05 AM

    Oh just pis@ off with your ‘environmental’ bollox.

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    Mute Paul Martin
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    Mar 19th 2025, 11:50 AM

    @Kieran Conroy: Thank you for that wonderful insightful observation. A lot to ponder there indeed.

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    Mute Meh Meh
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    Mar 19th 2025, 10:32 AM

    I can’t see how, considering the amount of BS coming from the DAIL so far this year.

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    Mute Sean Hayes
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    Mar 19th 2025, 10:54 AM

    @Meh Meh: or the Journal

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    Mute Johnny Wilson
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    Mar 19th 2025, 6:44 PM

    @Meh Meh: plus the Shinners tend to use underground bunkers for their toxic illegal goods

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    Mute Dr Albert S Meinheimer
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    Mar 19th 2025, 11:03 AM

    Maybe time for a companies that specialises on septic tank draining to begin to take cow effluent away too and offer the farmers grant aided biodegradable fertiliser instead.Despite the laws set up to prevent animal faeces finding its way into the rivers it always will.Heavy showers of rain will wash all the slurry in fields and farm yards into the gullies then into the rivers.

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    Mute Be Lucky
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    Mar 19th 2025, 10:27 AM

    Would our increase in population not effect this to, more people more people farting etc…

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    Mute Seamus Enright
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    Mar 19th 2025, 10:29 AM

    @Be Lucky: You’re confusing nitrogen with methane.

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    Mute Argus Romsworth
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    Mar 19th 2025, 10:43 AM

    Great news. Well done all involved.

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    Mute William Jennings
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    Mar 19th 2025, 1:40 PM

    The EPA should be abolished at this point. They serve no purpose except to crush businesses and farmers with unrealistic regulations. Their €80 million yearly budget could better spent in so many other beneficial ways. This latest scaremongering about nitrogen is pure nonsense. Nitrogen is a key component of life, essential for plant growth and soil health. Yet, politicians across the EU have treated it like some kind of toxic pollutant that needs to be heavily taxed and regulated. They push these extreme measures without even being able to properly model nitrogen’s role in the climate system. If the models already struggle with Co2, which has been studied extensively for decades, how can they possibly make accurate predictions about something even more complex, like nitrogen cycles?

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    Mute Ciaran FitzGerald
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    Mar 19th 2025, 2:08 PM

    @William Jennings: Excess nitrogen causes eutrophication in rivers and lakes. It causes algae blooms which wreak havoc. Our Fisheries get destroyed. The south east had some of the greatest salmon fishing in the world 100 years ago and it’s all but gone now.

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    Mute P. V. Aglue
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    Mar 19th 2025, 4:03 PM

    @Ciaran FitzGerald: that’s phosphorus

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    Mute William Jennings
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    Mar 19th 2025, 5:45 PM

    @Ciaran FitzGerald: The idea that methane is some kind of major driver of eutrophication is highly exaggerated. The main culprits behind algae blooms and eutrophication in lakes and rivers are actually nutrient runoff, specifically phosphorus and nitrogen compounds, not methane. While methane does dissolve in water, it doesn’t act as a nutrient in the same way that phosphates and nitrates do. Those are the real factors that fuel excessive algae growth, which can deplete oxygen levels and harm aquatic life. However, instead of looking at land-use practices, sewage treatment, and natural ecosystem balance, politicians will always jump straight to blaming methane because it fits the broader climate change narrative they’re pushing, which people like you unfortunately believe.

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    Mute David Jordan
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    Mar 19th 2025, 7:48 PM

    @William Jennings: More AI slop.

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    Mute William Jennings
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    Mar 20th 2025, 11:25 AM

    @David Jordan: Someone’s getting upset! Annoyed that people are challenging your lazy gibberish David? You’re nothing more than an irrelevant copy and paste merchant who lies repeatedly. Jog on mate if it offends you so much.

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    Mute Liam Dwyer
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    Mar 19th 2025, 10:42 AM

    Yes because the EPA shut the hell up

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    Mute Padraig O'Brien
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    Mar 19th 2025, 4:32 PM

    The factory farm lobby will pounce on this factoid to try to fool us into believing that they can be trusted to conserve our land and environment.
    Between them and the LNG lobbyists we badly need the Greens back in Government.

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