{"id":589556,"date":"2026-07-17T00:09:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T00:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/589556\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T00:09:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T00:09:25","slug":"eamon-ryan-presents-an-unbalanced-picture-of-irelands-water-quality-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/589556\/","title":{"rendered":"Eamon Ryan presents an unbalanced picture of Ireland\u2019s water quality \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sir, \u2013 Eamon Ryan<\/a> is right to highlight the importance of protecting Ireland\u2019s water quality and to draw attention to problems with private wells, septic tanks and nutrient runoff. These are genuine issues that deserve continued attention (\u201cWhy do we drink, swim and wash in filthy water\u201d<\/a>, Opinion, July 14th).<\/p>\n

However, his article presents an unbalanced picture by largely ignoring the substantial progress Ireland has made. He acknowledges that 99.98 per cent of public water supplies now meet microbial standards, yet the headline leaves readers with the impression that our water system is broadly failing.<\/p>\n

Ireland\u2019s population has grown significantly in recent decades, placing increasing demands on water and wastewater infrastructure. While challenges remain, they are being addressed through major ongoing investment in treatment plants, water networks and environmental protection. Ageing infrastructure cannot be modernised overnight, but progress is being made.<\/p>\n

The article also overlooks an important reality: whether funded through taxes or direct charges, providing safe drinking water and treating wastewater are expensive public services. Water is not a free resource, and maintaining high standards requires sustained investment from all of us as taxpayers.<\/p>\n

Of course we should continue to tackle pollution and improve water quality. But a balanced assessment should recognise both the remaining challenges and the considerable achievements already made. <\/p>\n

To suggest that Ireland is a country where we routinely drink, wash and swim in contaminated water is more sensational than it is representative of the reality experienced by most citizens. \u2013 Yours, etc,<\/p>\n

PAT SCOTT,<\/p>\n

Carrick-on-Shannon,<\/p>\n

Co Leitrim.<\/p>\n

Sir, \u2013 Eamon Ryan complains about the quality of the Irish water supply. Surely that\u2019s a question he should be addressing to the person who until fairly recently had a four-and-a-half-year stint as minister for the environment? I believe his name was Eamon Ryan. \u2013 Yours, etc,<\/p>\n

KEVIN O\u2019SULLIVAN,<\/p>\n

Letterkenny,<\/p>\n

Co Donegal.<\/p>\n

Sir, \u2013 A prolonged series of water restrictions<\/a> has just been announced for Dublin and surrounding counties. Even with the recent spell of dry weather, why can\u2019t the need for such restrictions be avoided?<\/p>\n

The last raw (not treated) water reservoir constructed in the Greater Dublin Area was Poulaphouca in 1937. <\/p>\n

The population of Co Dublin in 1937 was around 506,644. The 2026 population of Co Dublin is 1,458,154. In the last 40 years, four new reservoirs have been constructed in the Algarve region in Portugal. A fifth is at an advanced planning stage. \u2013 Yours, etc,<\/p>\n

LARRY HALPIN,<\/p>\n

Templeogue Bridge, <\/p>\n

Dublin 6W.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sir, \u2013 Eamon Ryan is right to highlight the importance of protecting Ireland\u2019s water quality and to draw…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[269],"tags":[37852,18,440,19,17,133],"class_list":["post-589556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-eamon-ryan","tag-eire","tag-environment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116932415607128269","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}