The Government needs to reverse serious trends in groundwater pollution by implementing the EU nitrates directive, according to the European Environment Commissioner, Ms Margot Wallström.
Speaking at a press briefing on the Environmental Protection Agency's latest report on water quality in Ireland, she said it was not satisfactory that 38 per cent of groundwater supplies were found to be polluted.
Ms Wallström said she had told the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, once again how dangerous nitrate pollution was and stressed the importance of complying with the EU directive. "This is where a lot of work will have to be concentrated," she said.
The Commissioner said that reversing current trends represented a particular challenge for the Government because of Ireland's large agricultural industry. But she hoped that farmers would take part in a "constructive dialogue" on the issue.
Asked whether the entire State should be designated as a nitrate-sensitive area, she said that was a matter for the Government to decide, but her talks with Mr Dempsey had given her hope the directive would be implemented.
The Minister pointed out that the nitrate problem in Ireland was fairly recent, and it did not become obvious until 1997 that there would be a need to designate nitrate-sensitive areas, where fertiliser use and slurry-spreading would be controlled.
But Ms Wallström said Ireland was now "in bad company" with some other EU member-states for failing to implement the nitrates directive. It is one of some 260 EU legal acts dealing with the environment.
The Commissioner made it clear that water was one of her political priorities, not least because it was so important for human health, and she wanted all member-states to implement the new Water Framework Directive.
She welcomed the EPA's commitment to ongoing monitoring of water quality in Ireland because it was important to have good scientific data on which to base decisions as well as inform the public. "It's about openness and transparency," she added.
Referring to the 111 complaints from Ireland about alleged infringements of EU directives, she said this could be a measure of the pressures generated by a fast-growing economy or indicate that "something is wrong" in terms of seeking redress here.
•The Labour Party spokeswoman on health, Ms Liz McManus, last night called for immediate action to restore drinking water to hundreds of families in Blessington, Co Wicklow.
"It is essential that the source of the pollution is identified immediately," she said, adding that "the scandal of illegal dumping in west Wicklow . . . is an obvious line of inquiry".
She said the Minister for the Environment should be sending out "the clear signal that people who abuse our environment for their own financial gain will be prosecuted and pay a heavy penalty".
