Leaders’ Questions
Deputy Roderic O’Gorman
Lady’s Island Lake in County Wexford is the largest saltwater lagoon in Ireland. It provides refuge for a variety of wildfowl. That is why it is protected under both the birds and habitats directives. It surrounds Our Lady’s Island, which is a beautiful and ancient place of pilgrimage. Unfortunately, Lady’s Island Lake is also highly polluted. The environmental protection agency, EPA, has been studying the lake for the past two years. The report it published in January makes for grim reading. It states, “the ecology of this lagoon has been severely damaged by nutrient over-enrichment resulting in harmful algal blooms and fish kills.” It goes on to say: The continued decline of Lady’s Island Lake and other saline lagoons in Ireland will result in the loss of many specialised species, the disappearance of feeding grounds for migratory birds and reduce the recreational and aesthetic value of these waters.
One of the report’s authors, Dr. Cilian Roden, told the Irish Independent in January last year that the situation is so bad, the lagoon’s glow can be seen from space.
The EPA’s research was discussed at the joint Oireachtas committee on environment last week. One point emerged crystal clear from the EPA report, namely that no improvement in the lake’s ecology will be possible without a large reduction in nutrient run-off from land. It is important we do not frame this as blaming farmers, but the impact of nutrient run-off at this significant site is absolutely clear. So too are the recommendations from the EPA on how we can save Lady’s Island Lake. We must enforce existing regulations on agricultural nutrients entering the lake, help farmers change their practices and improve the buffer zones around the water sources flowing into the lake.
The evidence put before the Oireachtas committee included a newspaper article from 1983 describing pollution in the lake. This is not some new environmental catastrophe; this problem has been in the making for more than 40 years and has been allowed to continue. All the various enforcement and accountability arms of the State, including local authority inspections, Teagasc and other mechanisms, failed to protect Lady’s Island Lake.
If agricultural run-off is the recognised driver of the pollution of the lake, will the Taoiseach task the Minister for agriculture to take the lead here? Will he agree that it must be a priority to reverse the pollution of the lake? In light of the absence of sufficient action for more than four decades, a solution needs force and the political clout a senior Cabinet Minister brings in order to bring together the relevant stakeholders and ensure that they deliver. Will the Taoiseach task the Minister with ensuring that action is taken to stop an ecological disaster that is unfolding in real time and in full view of us all?
The Taoiseach
I agree with the Deputy this must be a priority to reverse the pollution of Lady’s Island Lake. A specific action plan should be developed for the lake and so forth. That will have to involve a number of stakeholders. It will not just be agricultural stakeholders, but, obviously, they will be key. The Minister of State responsible for biodiversity should lead on this in conjunction with the Ministers for agriculture and climate. We are engaged in a range of projects across the country. This will have to be done on cross-departmental basis.
The climate and biodiversity dimensions have to be central to this in order to get improvements. There will have to be a whole-of-government approach because there may be a need for financial intervention in order to enable any plan to have impact on the ground. I know it is not the Deputy’s intention to apportion blame, but he is clearly saying that farming is creating the nutrient run-off into the lake. Clearly, the solution is going to have to involve neighbouring farmers. I will engage with the Minister of State, Christopher O’Sullivan, the Minister, Martin Heydon, and the Minister, Darragh O’Brien, and ask them to come together to coming up with a plan to deal with this issue. We have seen plans on other issues – whether it was the Corncrake LIFE project or the white-tailed eagles – in respect of which we engaged with stakeholders and which were – I will not say floundering – in difficulty early on. Through engagement with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, we got good responses and this resulted in the success and progression of those projects. There are other projects farmers have co-operated with – the Burren being a very good example – where we have also got good outcomes.
It is possible to get a good outcome, but an action plan involving all stakeholders has to be developed with a view to getting the outcome the Deputy correctly identified. It is not satisfactory to have ecological devastation at such an important site for a range of reasons.
Deputy Roderic O’Gorman
I thank the Taoiseach for his comments, but this time we have to do something different. We need political leadership and accountability. The damage here has been building for four decades and the existing processes just have not worked. In place of a thriving ecosystem, we are going to end up with a toxic goo lagoon. If we fail to act, we do not have far to look to see what is next for Lady’s Island Lake. Lough Neagh is already described as toxic due to the algal bloom it experiences each summer.
There are solutions, such as, perhaps, advancing a European innovation partnership scheme. Something similar was done nearby in Duncannon. That would create ways of rewarding farmers for changes they undertake to reduce nutrient run-off.
As my colleague, Senator Malcolm Noonan, said in the Oireachtas committee, unless the Department of agriculture is centrally involved and unless all the stakeholders play an active and collaborative role, this unique habitat will become a dead zone for nature. I do not think the Taoiseach wants that on his watch.
The Taoiseach
I certainly do not. Over the last number of years, I have taken a direct interest in the work of the NPWS and the biodiversity issue. We doubled the staff of the NPWS and we bought additional lands to transform into national parks. We now have a biodiversity officer in every local authority. When he was Minister of State, Senator Malcolm Noonan, did a lot of good work and I worked very well with him on this agenda.
I hear what the Deputy is saying regarding the centrality of the Department of agriculture but if it was left on its own, we might not get what he is looking for, and I do not mean that in an disparaging way as other stakeholders have to be involved as well. The EPA clearly has a role in terms of water quality and so on. The Minister of State in the Department of housing with responsibility for biodiversity has a clear role as well to pull this together. I will personally intervene to see if we can get an action plan put together to start the process of reversing this.
(Source: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2025-06-18/10/)
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