Poor water quality could cost millions in EU fines

IRELAND risks facing millions of euro in EU fines over poor water quality after a report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found more than half of groundwater supplies were contaminated with human or animal waste.

The opposition said water quality should be regarded as the biggest environmental issue after the report found a third of rivers are polluted, despite some improvements in recent years.

The EPA report said 66 lakes and 15 estuaries are not up to standard.