Health - Thurles Information

Sewage Continues To Harm Quality Of Our Rivers, Lakes & Coastal Waters, Says EPA.

A must read for Thurles residents and their businesses.

QUESTION: Were Thurles Councillors & Officials duped yet again at their Monday meeting with Irish Water officials?

Poorly treated sewage continues to harm the quality of our rivers, lakes and coastal waters, says EPA.

Just half (51%) of Ireland’s sewage was treated to the European Union standards set to protect our environment, well below the EU average of 90%.
Works to eliminate raw sewage flowing into seas and rivers from 32 towns and villages have commenced or are due to start by 2024.
Irish Water has no clear plan to improve treatment at 27 priority areas where waste water discharges are impacting on rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

The EPA report on Urban Waste Water Treatment in 2021, [Found HERE] and released today, shows that investment in waste water infrastructure is delivering improvements to priority areas identified by the EPA, but treatment at many areas is still not as good as it needs to be.

**Emmett Street running parallel with River Suir.**

“Irish Water does not have clear plans in place to deal with one-third of the priority areas where waste water is adversely impacting the environment and has not allocated resources in its investment plan to complete improvements at these areas” ~ says EPA

Irish Water must provide for all improvements needed at these areas in its next investment plan, which covers the period 2025-2029.

Launching the report today, Dr Tom Ryan, EPA Director said: “This report shows that targeting investment at the priority areas identified by the EPA is delivering improvements in water quality, and the elimination of raw sewage discharges from Cobh and Castletownbere in Cork are good examples of progress.
However, it will take a high level of sustained investment over the next two decades to bring all treatment systems across the country up to the required standard to protect the environment and public health”.
Dr. Ryan added: “Irish Water has failed to produce action plans to improve treatment at one-third of the priority areas identified by EPA where waste water is harming our rivers, lakes and coastal waters. It is essential that Irish Water provides clear, site specific action plans and time frames to improve treatment in these areas, and it needs to allocate the necessary resources in its next investment cycle to implement and complete them and to resolve the associated environmental harms”.

Ireland’s largest treatment plant at Ringsend in Dublin is overloaded and fails to consistently treat sewage to the required standards. A major upgrade of the plant began in 2018 and is due to be completed in 2025.
Construction work to provide treatment for the 32 areas discharging raw sewage listed in the report is either ongoing or due to start in the next two years. It is essential that Irish Water delivers these projects as soon as possible.

Mr Noel Byrne, EPA Programme Manager said: “Sixteen years after the final deadline to comply, half of Ireland’s sewage is still not treated to the standards set to protect the environment. It is particularly concerning to see some towns such as Ballymote in Sligo failing in 2021, despite having the necessary treatment infrastructure and meeting the standards in 2020. This highlights the need for improved vigilance and oversight by Irish Water to make sure treatment infrastructure is always operated at its optimum”.

The report also highlights that Irish Water needs to improve its information on the condition and performance of sewers to inform and plan upgrade works necessary to mitigate environmental risks from sewer overflows.

The report is now available on the EPA website HERE.

Consumer Prices Rose By 8.2% Over Past 12 Months To September 2022.

The CSO’s latest data (October 13th 2022), showing the national average price of groceries, consisting of essentials including bread, milk, cheese, rashers, sausages, chicken, fruit, vegetables, are now €11.00 more costly.

The average price of a large 800g white sliced pan is up 26 cents. So, if a family buys four sliced pan loaves a week, same represents an increase of over €54 per year, on purchasing just bread alone.

“Man shall not live by bread alone…….” (Matthew Ch. 4:V. 4)

Next, add bread prices to the increased price rise on full fat milk, per 2 litres, which has increased by 41 cents in the past year, while the average price of Irish cheddar, per kg, rose by €1.23; butter, per lb, up 67 cents; one dozen eggs up 12 cents; a medium size chicken up 85 cents; spaghetti up 31cents per 500g; then suddenly your grocery bill noticeably shoots further skyward.

For those of us who enjoy alcoholic beverage, the national average price of a take-home 50cl can of lager is €2.16, up 21 cents on average from September 2021, while a take-home 50cl can of cider at €2.46 is up 25 cents in the same period.
In September 2022, the national average price of a pint of stout in licensed premises was €5.14, up 19 cents a pint over the past year, while a pint of lager is costing €5.55, up 25 cents compared to that paid in September 2021.

Increased energy costs are reflected in the yearly increase of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels with electricity up 36.2%, gas up 53.1%, liquid fuels (home heating oil) up 83.8% and solid fuels up 32.5% in the year.
The annual change in Transport costs reflects a rise in the cost of diesel (+32.5%), petrol (+15.1%), purchase of motor cars (+11.2%) and airfares (+18.8%); compared with September 2021.

Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels rose mainly due to an increase in the cost of electricity, liquid fuels (home heating oil), gas, solid fuels, higher rents and mortgage interest repayments.
Transport increased primarily due to a rise in prices for motor cars, diesel, petrol and services in respect of personal transport equipment. However, this increase was partially offset by lower prices for passenger transport by bus & coach and by railway.

Restaurants & Hotels prices rose, mainly due to higher prices for alcoholic drinks and food consumed in licensed premises, restaurants, cafes etc. and an increase in the cost of hotel accommodation, possibly in many cases brought about by sheer greed.

Miscellaneous Goods & Services did decrease, primarily due to a reduction in prices for motor insurance premiums, health insurance premiums, jewellery, clocks & watches.

Do not forget to budget these price rises to include the 10% increase in Local Property Tax here in Tipperary and the €1.60 per hour charges in Thurles town centre for parking your motor vehicle before you even buy one iota.

Water Quality Of Rivers, Lakes, Estuaries, Coastal Areas Continues To Decline.

The water quality of our rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal areas continues to decline, says Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Water quality in Ireland has further declined. While improvements are being made in some areas, these are being offset by declines in water quality elsewhere.
At the current level of progress, Ireland will fail to meet the EU and national goal of restoring all waters to good or better status by 2027.
Only just over half of surface waters (rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters) are in satisfactory condition (that is they are achieving good or high ecological status and are able to sustain healthy ecosystems for fish, insects and plants).
The deterioration in estuaries and coastal waters is mostly along the southeast and southern seaboards and is due to agricultural run-off. Urgent and targeted action is required to reduce nitrogen emissions from agriculture in these areas.

**River Suir,** **Barry’s Bridge**, **Thurles, Co. Tipperary.**

Suir estuary has lost its good water quality.
Thurles.Info first raised this issue with Tipperary politicians, Tipperary County Councillors and the EPA, nine years ago, starting on November 7th, 2013. Our claims were denied. See also Here (April 2019). See Here (July 2018) etc. etc.
Instead Tipperary County Councillors, lead by Fianna Fáil Councillor Mr Seamus Hanafin, ignored the river Suir, choosing instead to spread a 3 metre wide strip of tarmacadam on the river bank destroying existing biodiversity and local history.

**Domestic Sewage water allowed to flow continuously into River Suir, at Thurles , Co. Tipperary**.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published the Water Quality in Ireland Report 2016-2021 which provides the latest assessment of the quality of Ireland’s rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal and groundwaters.
The report shows that water quality in Ireland is not as good as it should be. Only just over half of rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters are in satisfactory condition. The overall ecological health of these surface waters has declined across all water body types since the last assessment (2013-2018). This means these water bodies are less able to support healthy ecosystems for fish, insects and plants.

While the decline in water quality of our rivers and lakes is relatively small (1% and 3% of waterbodies respectively), the number of estuaries and coastal water bodies in satisfactory condition has decreased by almost 16% and 10% respectively.

These declines are mostly along the southeast and southern coasts where nitrogen emissions from agricultural activities are having a significant negative impact on water quality. Excess nitrogen causes algal blooms in our estuaries which can damage the ecosystem, and excess nitrogen in drinking water can pose a risk to human health.

Commenting on the report, Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment, said: “The scale of the declines in our estuaries and coastal waters is alarming. In recent years the EPA highlighted that nutrient levels in our rivers and groundwaters are too high and that trends were going in the wrong direction. We are now seeing the impact of these emissions on our estuaries and coastal waters. Areas such as Cork Harbour, Wexford Harbour and the Slaney, Suir and Nore estuaries have lost their good water quality status. This directly impacts the marine biodiversity and ecological value in these areas”.

The report highlights that since the last assessment published in 2019, the number of monitored water bodies in satisfactory condition has declined by:

1% in rivers,
3% in lakes,
16% in estuaries,
10% in coastal waters.

**River Suir,** **Thurles Foot Bridge area** **near** **‘Swinging Gates’**, **Thurles, Co. Tipperary.**

The main pressures on water quality are agriculture, physical changes such as land drainage and dredging, forestry activities and discharges from urban wastewater. These activities can lead to run-off of nutrients, sediment and pesticides and damage to the physical habitat of waterbodies. The number of waterbodies impacted by urban wastewater remains high, but it is reducing, and the trend is going in the right direction. The number of waterbodies impacted by agriculture has, however, increased in recent years.

Ms Mary Gurrie, Programme Manager, added: “Improvements in water quality are being made, particularly in the priority areas for action where there has been focussed action to restore water quality in the past three years. This shows that improvements to water quality can be made when actions are targeted. However, the gains made are being wiped out by declines in water quality elsewhere”.

The EPA is calling for urgent and targeted action to protect and restore water quality in the next River Basin Management Plan (2022-2027), and full implementation of, and compliance with, the Good Agricultural Practice Regulations.

The full report and a summary report are available on the EPA website.
Further information on water quality data and catchment assessments is available HERE.

Mask Wearing On Public Transport & In Health Settings, May Become Mandatory.

The Minister for Health Mr Stephen Donnelly has warned the public that mask-wearing on public transport and continued mask-wearing in health settings, may once again become mandatory, if Covid-19 cases continue to rise. He made this statement following discussions last night with the Chief Medical Officer, Prof. Breda Smyth.
Fewer people are wearing masks on public transport, or indeed in crowded places like Supermarkets, Entertainment Centres, and Sports Arenas as life attempts to returns to normality.

While Ireland is not alone in seeing a rise in Covid; cases here over the past 14 days have risen as was predicted. Today we are aware there are 474 Covid-19 patients in our republic’s hospitals, of which 13 remain in intensive care units (ICU); thus forcing medical facilities to operate separate twin admission systems, while attempting to deal with Covid and non-Covid patients.

The HSE, currently, does not operate PCR tests for people under the age of 55 for symptoms of Covid-19, unless they are otherwise recorded as being unhealthy. This makes it difficult to get a true overall accurate image of the scale of infection within communities.

The Government’s current approach is to encourage further uptake of vaccines and booster doses, as advertised daily in media adverts.

Recent figures show that one in 40 people in Northern Ireland are currently infected, and with influenza and respiratory viruses also rearing their ugly heads, this in turn is bound to make conditions a bit more difficult over this winter and spring period.

Concern For Irish Consumers When Buying Food.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) last week welcomed the EU-wide research conducted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The 2022 Eurobarometer on food safety, the first to be commissioned since 2019, and focused on a range of topics including concerns about food safety, trust in sources of information on food risks, and personal interest in food safety.

When asked about factors affecting food purchases, Irish consumers ranked cost (63%) as the most important consideration, with taste (54%) and food safety (52%) following close behind. Strikingly, these results are higher overall than the average top concerns across the whole EU of cost (54%), taste (51%) and food safety (46%).

Other findings from the Eurobarometer include:

Chief among Irish food safety concerns are food poisoning from food or drinks contaminated by bacteria, viruses, and parasites (39%); pesticide residues in food (36%); and additives like colours, preservatives or flavourings used in food or drinks (29%).
A strong majority of Irish consumers (82% of men and 83% of women) would change their behaviour if made aware of a foodborne disease outbreak news story, with 90% of those aged 15–24 stating they would do so.
When asked for their reasons for not engaging with the EU food safety system, Irish consumers (47%) responded; “I take it for granted that the food sold is safe”.

Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI said, “In the current high cost of living climate and with rising household bills, it is not surprising to see that Irish consumers report cost as the main factor when purchasing food, up 6% since 2019. However, from a food safety perspective, it is encouraging to see that Irish consumers place food safety as the third most important factor when buying food.

Over 1,000 Irish consumers were interviewed as part of this research, and 90% of those agreed that regulations are in place to ensure that the food we eat is safe, with 84% of the same respondents trusting national authorities as a source of information on food risk, a figure almost 20% higher than the EU average (66%).

75% of Irish people interviewed said they had a personal interest in the topic of food safety. We want every Irish consumer to know that the FSAI is responsive and understanding of their concerns regarding food safety. We continue to work with food businesses in Ireland to ensure that food safety regulations are complied with and that Ireland maintains its positive reputation for producing safe food. Working in conjunction with the food inspectorate and other EU food safety authorities, we will continue to protect consumers and raise compliance through partnership, science, and food law enforcement,” Dr Byrne concluded.