EPA warns ‘two decades is too long to wait to fix Ireland’s deficient wastewater treatment plants’

Wastewater treatment at 10 cities and large towns is failing to meet EU standards set to protect the environment, the EPA has found.
Large population centres not meeting the required standard include Dublin (due to ongoing capacity issues at Ringsend wastewater treatment facility), Limerick, Arklow and Malahide.
All deficient wastewater works must be brought up to the standards required to protect the environment, the EPA warns in its annual wastewater report (for 2023) published on Friday. But based on Uisce Éireann’s own estimates, “this could take over two decades and will require substantial investment”, it said.
The utility’s slow progress in designing and delivering solutions needed at waters most affected by wastewater discharges “are prolonging impacts on water quality”, and it must “prioritise prompt delivery of these essential works” at these locations, it says.
The EPA acknowledges a 45 per cent reduction in towns and villages discharging raw sewage since the start of 2023, but found “discharges from over half of treatment plants did not always meet licence standards set to prevent pollution”.
The number of towns and villages discharging raw sewage every day has reduced from 29 down to 16. “Nevertheless, wastewater treatment at many areas is not good enough to prevent wastewater discharges from impacting the quality of rivers, estuaries, lakes and coastal waters,” it adds.
As it is not possible to fix all problems in the short term, it says improvements must be prioritised where needed most.
The EPA identified 73 priority areas where improvements are most urgently needed. “Uisce Éireann has not yet started upgrade works at half of these,” it said.
EPA director Dr Tom Ryan said: “Investment has resulted in stopping raw sewage discharges during the past year from 13 towns and villages that were priority areas highlighted by the EPA. This demonstrates that such investment protects our environment and benefits our local communities.”
Upgrade of Ireland’s largest treatment plant at Ringsend was well advanced, he said.
“Without an ambitious and sustained investment programme to build out wastewater treatment infrastructure, it could take over two decades to achieve the required standards to protect the environment,” Dr Ryan said.
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The EPA says Uisce Éireann’s slow progress in designing and delivering solutions needed at waters most affected by discharges means pollution is allowed continue, where it should be prioritising “prompt delivery of these essential works”.
The urban wastewater treatment directive sets EU treatment standards for large towns and cities. Among 10 areas that failed these basic standards in 2023 were Lahinch, Co Clare; Aughrim, Co Wicklow; Ballina-Killaloe on the river Shannon; Moville, Co Donegal; and Cloyne and Rathcormac in Co Cork.
It is unacceptable that more than half of licensed treatment plants do not always meet EU standards, with issues ranging from short-term breaches of treatment standards up to continuous discharges of raw sewage, said EPA programme manager Noel Byrne.
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Short-term breaches should be resolved through effective management and maintenance of equipment, he said, while “Uisce Éireann must address infrastructural deficits at priority areas highlighted by the EPA during its 2025 to 2029 investment cycle. This will help deliver significant environmental benefits and protect water quality.”
Uisce Éireann said it was “making strong progress in addressing priority issues following decades of underinvestment”, with raw sewage discharges eliminated in 41 of 50 areas – an 82 per cent reduction.
It added that 94 per cent of treatment plants were compliant with the directive, while 136 treatment plants had been built or upgraded since 2014.
The utility said, however, multibillion-euro investment would be required over many decades to achieve the necessary standards.