Vol. 438 No. 5
138 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the environmental threat posed by domestic washing-up liquids and other domestic detergents flowing into lakes from towns that have no proper industrial or domestic treatment plants; the steps, if any, he intends to take to deal with this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Wexford): The latest national report by the former Environmental Research Unit on surface water quality indicates that eutrophication is the main pollution threat to continued good water quality in Ireland. Diffuse sources such as agricultural wastes, and point sources such as sewage and industrial waste water, both contribute to this phenomenon.
While the ERU report did not specifically highlight the threat posed to lake quality by domestic washing-up liquids and detergents, recent reports relating to Lough Derg and Lough Conn implicate detergents as a contributor to water quality problems in these lakes.
A major Government programme of new and improved sewage treatment facilities is already under way and will be continued in line with the provisions of the National Development Plan. Local authority controls on industrial and trade effluents under the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts, 1977 and 1990, will be maintained and licensing by the Environmental Protection Agency will apply in certain cases.
