'Vast majority' of sites will no longer pump sewage into sea by 2025, says Irish Water boss

Niall Gleeson appeared at Oireachtas housing committee where he responded to the EPA's scathing report on wastewater plants

Niall Gleeson, managing director of Irish Water, appearing before the Oireachtas housing committee earlier today. Picture: Oireachtas TV

By 2025, "the vast majority" of sites where raw sewage is currently being pumped into the sea will have their discharges treated by Irish Water, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

A scathing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report into wastewater treatment in Ireland, and quoted by Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin during the committee, found that 19 urban areas, towns, and cities were in breach of the wastewater treatment directive.