More than half of wastewater treatment plants in Ireland fail to meet regulatory standards — report

Treatment plants in Clonakilty, Cloyne, Rathcormac and Mitchelstown in Cork were among those which failed the EU standards.

Some 55% of wastewater treatment plants in Ireland failed to meet regulatory standards, with the Environmental Protection Agency sharply criticising Uisce Éireann's management of such facilities.

The latest Urban Wastewater Treatment report found failures at half of these treatment plants were due to “inadequate operation and maintenance”. 

The EPA said while these issues could be addressed in the short term, upgrading deficient infrastructure was a “longer-term challenge because of the scale of work involved and the investment required".

The organisation said it had identified 72 priority areas where action was “most urgently needed to prevent pollution and protect the environment".

“As a result, wastewater discharges continue to harm water quality in rivers, estuaries, lakes and coastal waters, and pose a risk to human health,” the report said.

It found 11 towns and villages which continue to discharge raw sewage every day in 2025; this was down from 29 at the beginning of 2023. These include plants in Foynes, Glin, Kilkee and Howth (Doldrum Bay).

Additionally, 13 large towns and cities failed to meet EU standards, set over 30 years ago to protect the environment.

Treatment plants in Clonakilty, Cloyne, Rathcormac and Mitchelstown in Cork were among those which failed the EU standards.

Meanwhile, 35 priority areas saw wastewater discharges adversely impacting the quality of rivers, estuaries, lakes and coastal waters.

“Uisce Éireann is taking too long to start delivering the improvements needed at three-quarters of these areas, and these delays are prolonging impacts on water quality,” the EPA said.

The priority places include Cork City, Dungarvan, Killarney and Tralee, among others.

Director of the EPA’s Office of Radiation Protection and Environmental Monitoring Pat Byrne said while investment in new plants was helping protect the environment, EPA inspections continued to “identify poor operational practices and inadequate maintenance of wastewater infrastructure”. 

 “This results in wastewater being discharged without proper treatment and adversely impacting water quality,” he said.

“Many of these failures could and should have been prevented, and Uisce Éireann must take immediate and effective action to address these failings,” he added.