There is still a small chance of rescuing Wexford lagoon from the same fate as Lough Neagh
Ireland still enjoys a reasonably healthy democracy, but we should not underestimate the potential for untruths and wilful ignorance to infect our political discourse.
The Government, on the whole, does not deny climate science. So far so good. But when it comes to water quality, alternative facts are endemic.
I witnessed an example of this on June 5th. The Minister for Agriculture
Martin Heydon
was challenged outside a Department of Agriculture conference by a group of activists from Animal Rebellion over the impact of agricultural run-off into Lady's Island, an important saltwater lagoon in Co Wexford. 'Where's the evidence for that?' he replied tetchily.
It is tempting to craft a detailed response to the Minister, listing out all the studies published over the last two decades by the
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and forwarded as a matter of course to his department, but what is the point? Either the Minister is poorly informed or prefers not to know.
READ MORE
The facts are actually piled high in EPA reports
on the shelves of his own department and those of
Teagasc
and local authorities. The EPA's catchment studies show agriculture accounts for roughly 70 per cent of nitrogen inputs in the southeast of Ireland. The data overwhelmingly points to farming – livestock and tillage – as the dominant pressure on water quality. And nitrate pollution is actually on the rise at more than a third of river sites.
An Taisce's recent submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy
stated that the nitrogen pollution problem in the south and southeast was a result of ineffective regulation, combined with a notable lack of enforcement of the regulations we do have. All the scientific evidence points to the need for a radical reduction in fertiliser and slurry spreading in sensitive catchments.
An
EPA-funded study published earlier this year and conducted by Aquafact found a five to seven-fold reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to Lady's Island Lake would be necessary to return the lagoon to good ecological status.
[
'The lough isn't just dying, it's been killed': How Lough Neagh reached crisis point
]
This will require changes to farming practices and the construction of buffers and wetlands, as well as tree planting, to contain the nutrient losses. It will also require stepped up inspections and enforcement: since 2018, Wexford County Council has only conducted 30 farm
inspections despite the critical state of the lagoon.
The Aquafact study was considered at a hearing of the
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy last week. There was no denial evident from the experts who addressed the committee. Not from
Wexford County Council
, nor from the
National Parks and Wildlife Service
. Their representatives pointed out that it has been known for four decades that Lady's Island, an ecologically important saltwater lagoon used by migrating birds, was in steady decline.
Local farmers are, on the whole, compliant with the environmental regulations. But if the government's Nitrates Action Plan is not fit for purpose, and permits too much nitrates and phosphates to be deposited in sensitive catchments, then nutrient run-off and pollution is inevitable.
However, the Minister for Agriculture
has yet to state in the Dáil that he will act decisively to improve water quality, hiding instead behind vague statements such as 'science is telling us things are not where they should be'.
It seems like everyone apart from the Minister for Agriculture is in agreement that radical measures are required to reduce nutrient losses. But if the Minister believes there is insufficient evidence to act, then he can justify more studies, more talk, more delays. Politically speaking, his goal is to retain the nitrates derogation (which permits higher stocking rates of cattle), not to save Lady's Island.
Retaining the nitrates derogation has become the rallying cry for the entire agricultural sector and its political backers, despite the obvious problem that it is adding to the pollution burden in our rivers, lakes and estuaries.
So it would be wrong to think of the death of Lady's Island as a tragedy. Government policy on nitrates is designed to fail, but to keep the derogation regardless. The policy is to sacrifice water quality where it cannot be improved with modest interventions, to support agricultural exports.
The Minister has a small chance of rescuing the lagoon from the fate of Lough Neagh by acting decisively to reduce nutrient pollution and to fund the required measures, but I won't be holding my breath.
Sadhbh O'Neill is a climate and environmental researcher
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to deliver annual Michael Collins address at Béal na Bláth
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will deliver the oration at Béal na Bláth later this summer to mark the 103rd anniversary of the death of Gen Michael Collins in the Civil War. The event takes place this year on Sunday August 24th. 'Minister Carroll MacNeill has a deep understanding of Irish history, and we very much look forward to hearing what she will have to say in August,' said Béal na Bláth commemoration committee chairman Senator Garret Kelleher. Ms Carroll MacNeill said it was an honour to have been asked to speak at this year's commemoration. READ MORE 'This significant event allows us to remember and honour the legacy of Michael Collins, whose vision, leadership and unwavering dedication to our country and its people continue to inspire us all,' said Ms Carroll MacNeill, the first woman to give the oration since Heather Humphreys in 2021. 'His legacy of leadership and dedication to public service is something I see as I visit our healthcare community around the country and their unwavering dedication to caring for people. I am really looking forward to speaking at the commemoration and reflecting on Collins's legacy and values.' [ Jennifer Carroll MacNeill in the spotlight as health controversies intensify Opens in new window ] Ms Carroll MacNeill said she had brought her then seven-year-old son James to the 2022 commemoration and she was looking forward to bringing him back to Béal na Bláth because of his family links to Collins. She said James's great-grandfather, Capt Hugo MacNeill, accepted the surrender of Victoria Barracks in Cork from the British on behalf of Collins and the National Army on May 18th, 1922. The barracks was subsequently renamed Collins Barracks in honour of the west Cork man. The first chief of staff of the National Army, Collins was killed in an ambush by a party of anti-Treaty IRA men at Béal na Bláth on August 22nd, 1922, as he returned with a party of National Army troops from inspecting garrisons in his native west Cork.
The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
How apocalyptic Iran could terrorise West after US blitz from horror bombings to kidnappings and crippling cyber attacks
THE world is waiting with baited breath for Tehran's response to Donald Trump's strikes on three key nuclear facilities. Iran and Israel's conflict expanded to a global scale when the 11 Firefighters, rescue workers and military tasked with civil defense and recovery operations gather at the site of a direct missile strike launched from Iran in Tel Aviv Credit: AP 11 Missiles fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps towards Israel Credit: Reuters 11 Houthi supporters at a ceremony marking the Shiite religious Day of Eid al-Ghadir, in Sana'a, Yemen Credit: EPA 11 US President Donald Trump holds a meeting in the Situation Room at the White House in Washington Credit: Reuters 11 After declaring the But Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has warned that Fears loom of US sites decimated A simple response from Iran would be the decimation of US sites in the Middle East using its arsenal of ballistic missiles. read more news At least 50 Iranian missiles are thought to have struck down in Israel during the ten days of conflict. But more than 450 have been intercepted by Israel's sophisticated air defences, along with around 1,000 drones, according to the latest figures from the Israeli military. Iranian preparations for missile strikes on US military bases in the Middle East have been exposed by American intelligence officers, anonymous officials told the New York Times. There are over 20 bases across the region - the majority of which are within 2,000km range of Iran's Sejil-2 ballistic missile. Most read in The US Sun US bases in Iraq and Syria would potentially be targeted first, according to American officials said that F-22, F-16 and F-35 fighter jets had been positioned in the Middle East - prime targets for Tehran missiles. Major general Chip Chapman told The Sun how the bases represent key targets for Iran. He said: "It could be that they do some sort of minimal strike on one or two bases, not a theatre-wide strike, which would involve Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, all the American bases throughout the region. "And we know from the UK perspective that the 20 plots, Iranian inspired plots against, Iranian dissidents. "So you could see that against Israeli targets, a wide geographic region that's that prolonged, sporadic, conflict. "It is if you had that, that people would more overtly, I think, talk about regime change in general." Fears loom that Iran could even strike US embassies and consulates. Several sources revealed to Sky News that the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, is likely to be attacked. Sponsored terror attacks Iran has not hid the fact it uses its network of regional proxies as defence. 11 Smoke rises following an Israeli attack in Tehran, Iran Credit: Reuters 11 Missiles fired from Iran in retaliation for Israeli attacks are seen in the sky over the Hebron, West Bank Credit: Getty 11 Houthi supporters attend a ceremony marking the Shiite religious Day Credit: EPA Infamous Hezbollah and Hamas have been effectively keeping the Israeli military occupied - steering attention away from Iran. And Yemen's Houthis have also provided distraction to the West by relentlessly targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The group already vowed to target US ships if Washington launched an attack on Iran just hours before Trump's nuke blitz - with the threat now potentially becoming a reality. The Houthis had halted its attacks on US shipping containers after Trump boosted strikes on the group. Crippling cyber attack Iran and its regional proxies have claimed responsibility for various crippling cyber attacks on Israel. Data has been destroyed and phishing campaigns launched in the past - meaning another cyber attack in response to the nuclear sites blitz could be on the cards. The US government has desperately worked to gather information on Iranian hackers responsible for previous attacks due to the grave threats to defence. An eye-watering $10 million reward was uploaded for details on a group known as CyberAv3ngers who US officials have tracked down to having links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. But experts have warned that Iran could struggle to actually launched large-scale cyber attacks when its regime is under extreme threat - like now. Choking shipping lanes Arguably Tehran's most powerful weapon against the West is the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow path of water between Oman and Iran is vital in the global supply of oil. Major general Chapman told The Sun that the Islamic Republic could just shut down access to the Strait and cripple shipping through the area. He said: "The worst case from the allies perspective, America and everyone else, is that the Iranians go towards a posture of closing the Strait of Hormuz. "20 per cent of the world's oil runs through that. And as of today, the price of a barrel of oil, Brant crude was $77. "Now that is where the Brits may get involved, because one of the things about the British posture in the region and the opposition, it's been a longstanding British, operation in the Persian Gulf and the wider Middle East is that we have mine countermeasure vessels, co-located with the American Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. "If the Iranians were to try and close the Strait of Hormuz, that those would be a definite ask by the Americans to the Brits. "The Iranian oil goes to China, it goes to India, places like that. They're the ones who would suffer." Oil field blitzed Iran has the potential to pull what's been dubbed the "last big card" and launch an attack on vital energy infrastructure in the Gulf that powers the globe. In 2019, two major Saudi Arabian oil plants, one in Abqaiq, Bugayg, and its second largest oilfield in Khurais, where engulfed in flames after a drone attack. The Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack - but the US and Saudi governments accused Iran of orchestrating it behind closed doors. 11 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's grandson, Hassan Khomeini stands next to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Credit: Reuters 11 Missiles fired from Iran in retaliation for Israeli attacks are seen in the sky over the Hebron Credit: Getty 11 Smoke rises from the building of Iran's state-run television after an Israeli strike in Tehran Credit: AP The Khurais oilfield was producing around one per cent of the world's oil and Abqaiq is the largest facility and could produce seven per cent of the global supply. This caused global energy prices to spike, and temporarily binned half of Saudi Arabia's oil production. Chaos unfolding After declaring the He said in a nationally televised speech at the White House: " "There will be 'Remember there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. 'But if 'Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes. There's no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight." And shortly after speaking on-camera, he posted to Truth Social: "This cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Staggering vid shows US carpet bombing Houthis in 'Operation Rough Rider' as Trump blitzed 800 targets in 44 days "Remember, "But if peace does not come quickly we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill." Meanwhile Iran's foreign minister Abbas Arghchi dubbed the strikes "outrageous and will have everlasting consequences". He also called the military action "a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT by attacking Iran's peaceful nuclear installations". Arghchi added: "Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior. "In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people." A response from Iran, or from the Ayatollah in hiding, has not yet come. Ali Khamenei is believed to be Two informed sources inside the country told Iran International the country's ageing dictator is Posting on Truth Social, President Analysis of the global implications PHILIP Ingram, expert on international security 'Iranian ballistic missiles will not reach the United States and therefore to try and respond to the United States attack Iran's going to have to do something different. "It'll bring its coalition of the willing that it has together or as we call them the axis of evil. So we've got Iran, Russia, North Korea and China. 'China will likely sit back and wait to see what's happening, to begin with. But North Korea may provide Iran with some missile technology. 'Russia is sitting there laughing all the way to the bank effectively. 'The escalating conflict helps Russia by moving Russia-Ukraine further down the agenda so that people aren't focusing on it. 'Iran and Russia will join forces to try and cause as much disruption in different countries as possible through protest and through disinformation. 'There will be two reactions directly out of Iran. One, the stimulation of their proxy organisations that they have operating across the world. Hamas and Hezbollah have been largely destroyed by Israel. 'But they've still got the Houthis in Yemen. I think we will see a massive uptake in Houthi activity in disrupting international shipping in the Red Sea. 'The other reaction could be trying to close the Straits of Hormuz. 30 percent of the world's oil and gas goes through there. "Even a threat to close it will put energy prices spiking to a level that will make the spike we saw when Russia invaded Ukraine seem like small change."
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
EU may be finally approaching ‘point of departure' on Gaza war
After 20 months of war that has seen tens of thousands of Palestinians killed, large parts of Gaza reduced to rubble and continued warnings about dire humanitarian conditions and possible famine, the European Union may finally be approaching a 'point of departure' in its relations with Israel , several diplomats say. Throughout Israel's military campaign in Gaza the response of the EU to the conflict has been defined by its inability to agree on a response. For a long period Spain and Ireland, as well as Belgium and Slovenia at times, were lonely outliers calling for the bloc to use what leverage it has to hold Israel accountable for the mounting deaths of Palestinian civilians. More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's invasion of Gaza, which followed the October 7th, 2023 attacks by Hamas militants in southern Israel. READ MORE In a sign the tide of opinion had begun to shift against Israel, some 17 of the EU's 27 states last month backed a review into whether Israel's actions in Gaza had breached human rights commitments it signed up to, as part of an EU-Israel association agreement. The agreement governing relations between the two has been in place since 2000. Crucially, it includes a free trade deal, which is economically valuable to Israel, given the EU is its biggest trading partner. The EU review said evidence 'indicates' Israel's actions in Gaza had breached its human rights obligations under the deal. Foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss the findings. One big question mark is how Israel's war with Iran will shift the dynamics in the room when the doors close behind the ministers. The Coalition of states who favour tougher consequences for Israel has grown to include Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, Portugal and the Netherlands . The push to order a review of the EU-Israel deal was led by the Dutch, a traditional ally of Israel. The fact the move came from a government who previously sat in the middle ground of the debate probably convinced others to shift position. One of the union's two big powers, France, was also on board. Just because 17 capitals voted in favour of a review taking place does not mean they will all agree about what should be done now. 'This group is not homogenous, there are those who would wish to see more immediate measures taken [and] those who still want to give Israel a chance to act,' one diplomat involved in negotiations said. 'It is clear that the grouping of 17 member states is not one big bloc ... I'm hopeful that most of that group will stay together,' another diplomat said. Behind the scenes the Dutch are trying to keep the wide level of support intact, to secure a voting majority in support of some EU action to put pressure on Israel. 'We don't expect any decisions on Monday,' one EU diplomat said of the foreign ministers meeting. Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign affairs chief who chairs the meetings, will take soundings from the room about the findings of the review. It is likely Ms Kallas will be asked to go away and prepare possible options to put on the table at the next meeting of foreign ministers on July 15th, several diplomatic sources said. A group of nine states recently suggested the EU needs to do more to cut off trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and other occupied Palestinian territories. In a separate June 10th letter to Ms Kallas, the Swedish government said the EU should 'urgently' adopt sanctions targeting Israeli ministers who promote illegal settlements. There had been signs that even Germany, one of Israel's biggest defenders, might be poised to change its position. That was before the fighting between Israel and Iran escalated so significantly. Comments from German chancellor Friedrich Merz since then suggest the government is rowing in behind Israel, lowering the chances of Berlin supporting any EU penalties or sanction. Hungary and the Czech Republic have consistently opposed the EU taking against Israel. That means suspending the EU-Israel agreement in full is off the table, given such a move would require the unanimous backing of all 27 states. Suspending elements of the deal may only require a majority. One EU diplomat speculated recent strikes in Iran, which Israel justified as necessary to prevent Tehran developing nuclear weapons, should not divert the world's attention from the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The EU should be careful not to 'fall into the trap' and totally shift its focus, the diplomat said. Agnes Bertrand Sanz of aid charity Oxfam said the cost of inaction by the EU would be measured in lives. 'Homes flattened, hospitals destroyed and looming famine ... There is no time for more debate,' she said. The cumbersome process of agreeing on a common foreign policy position in a union of 27 governments, means any EU decision to sanction Israel – if a decision is taken – probably remains weeks or even months away.
