There is a serious problem with nitrogen concentration in the River Suir, and other South East rivers according to a Green Party TD.
The Environmental Protection Agency's most recent report found that 20,000 tonnes of nitrogen were discarded into the rivers Barrow, the Nore and the Suir.
Speaking in the Dáil last night, Waterford TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh raised the issue prevalent in the region.
"This problem is particularly pronounced in the South East, and taking the most up to date figures from the EPA in 2019 and combining the figures from the Nore, the Suir and the Barrow the report estimated that 20,000 tonnes were discharged.
"That's over 20,000 tonnes flowing out between Hook Head and Dunmore East, into what supposedly is a special area of conversation," Deputy Ó Cathasaigh said.
The Green Party TD said that the agricultural industry seems to be a major contributing factor with chemical and organic fertilisers at the core of the problem.
"The data shows that in more rural catchments more than 85% of the sources of the nitrogen are from agriculture - chemical and organic fertilisers.
"In the cases of the Barrow, the Nore and the Suir which drain upwards of 900 sq km in the South East region - in their combined catchment that figure is above 90%," he said.
