The headline 2027 EU water quality target of achieving at least ‘good status’ across all waterbodies will be missed by Ireland and all other member states, senior Department of Agriculture inspector Ted Massey has said.

“The data we have now is the data we will have in 2027 and only 52% of our waterbodies are meeting their objectives - but across the EU, no EU member state is going to meet that objective,” the senior Department official told Teagasc’s Signpost webinar on Friday.

“There are talks at a European level on how this issue can be addressed, were the targets realistic.”

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However, missing its 2027 water framework directive targets carries a greater significant for Ireland than it does for the other 26 member states, Massey said.

Derogation

“From our perspective in Ireland, we are not going to get very far by saying ‘no EU member state is meeting its target’.

“We are the people who are seeking to avail of the nitrates derogation, we are the only member state in that regard and it becomes more challenging for the European Commission to grant us a derogation if our water quality is not going in the right direction, particularly in the context of that 2027 deadline.”

Massey said that the ultimate aim of the Department is to see a long-term trend of improving water quality and that progress had been witnessed two years ago.

“We saw progress in 2024 in terms of reduction in nitrogen concentrations in our rivers, but the EPA’s early insights report for last year shows nitrogen concentration for our rivers went back up,” he stated.

“So, the progress we achieved in 2024 has essentially been lost.

“There is significant action under way across the sector to reduce the losses of both nitrogen and phosphorous and it is important that when we look at the data year on year, we are conscious of the impacts that things such as weather can have.”