The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that it is “unclear” if the range of farming water quality protections being undertaken on farms will meet Ireland’s water quality targets.

These measures include more farm inspections, measures in CAP schemes and the new Farming for Water EIP, the report says.

The agency estimates that 17% to 56% of the over 1,000 water bodies classed as facing “significant pressure” from agriculture should see improvements by the 2027 target deadline, with the improvement to depend on the uptake and effectiveness of additional measures.

There are 200,000 “high priority” actions identified for placement along waterways to reduce the risk of phosphorus and sediment loss from agriculture. The new report states that risks of losing phosphorus and sediment are “typically not dependent on farm intensity” as it only takes a small amount of phosphorus running off the land to cause a water quality issue in a stream.

The report notes that there is around a 25% reduction in the nitrogen loading of waterways needed to meet water quality targets and that these reductions are needed evenly across the country.

The Slaney and Barrow catchments require a nitrogen load reduction of approximately 50% and all other areas are closer to 15%, it said.

Fertiliser application reductions planned or already in place “will go some way to achieving the targets” set for nitrogen in catchments on the lower end, but “additional actions will likely be required” to reduce nitrate leaching in others, according to the report.