Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2026
567. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the estimated cost of installing real-time water quality monitoring infrastructure in the Blackwater catchment; if funding has been allocated to this project; the expected timeframe for delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46944/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraTo improve water quality we need to reduce the loss of agricultural nutrients to water. Supported by Government, there is significant work underway in this regard.
In May 2024, at my Department's request, Teagasc launched their multi-actor ‘Better Farming for Water Campaign.
There are six pillars to this campaign:
• Stakeholder Engagement – a multi-actor approach led by local ‘champion’ farmers.
• Building Awareness – acquisition and utilisation of local water quality data.
• Upskilling farmers, advisors, lecturers/teachers and students.
• An impactful Knowledge Transfer programme delivered through advisory support.
• A supporting Research Programme to identify effective mitigation actions.
• A strong Communication Plan with target audience.
The Environmental Protection Agency has identified the Blackwater catchment area as a ‘catchment of concern’ where nitrogen concentrations are too high and focused efforts to reduce nitrate levels are needed. As a result, the Blackwater Catchment is one of the eight priority catchments targeted under Teagasc's campaign.
In June 2025, monitoring stations were installed in two locations on the river Funshion within the Blackwater Catchment.
One station was installed by Teagasc using part of my Department's grant in aid funding for the Better Farming for Water Campaign. The other station was installed by the Local Authority Waters Programme, funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The estimated installation cost for each site was approximately €30,000. These complementary stations monitor nitrate and nitrate concentrations hourly.
The purpose of these stations is to aid the evaluation of nitrogen measures implemented in this sub-catchment of the Blackwater, in particular the Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership funded measure relating to farm nitrogen surplus calculations.
To establish a trend, at least three years data must be collected. Therefore the earliest reports from these projects will be available in 2028. As part of this collaborative effort, this high-resolution monitoring work within the Blackwater Catchment will provide timely information on the impact farm practice change is having in reducing nitrogen losses from this catchment.
