Advocate General of the EU Court of Justice has cast doubt on whether the nitrates derogation can continue if Ireland's action plan to prevent agricultural pollution is found in breach of EU law theearthscorr.substack.com/p/major-issu... @shaunacorr.bsky.social #nitratepollution

'Removing this safeguard increases the risk of environmental harm & lower standards of environmental protection by hamstringing public interest environmental litigation...We also have a history of serious governance issues in planning, so restricting judicial oversight in this area would be unwise'

Rebecca Solnit's words provide some welcome hope and motivation in the daily global hellscape. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/m...

NEW: Israel becomes the first state in history to write INTO LAW the death sentence for one, specific ethnic group. This is Cabinet member Ben Gvir celebrating with champagne after the vote. This is not a government, it is a death cult. They won’t serve champagne in The Hague. (🎥 Cradle Media)

Ireland: Taoiseach Martin told journalists there are “no weapons” passing through the airport – while his Fianna Fáil and government colleague Darragh O’Brien authorised US troops carrying guns to land in county Clare. www.ontheditch.com/ag-insint-br...

Batman knows what's up. 1/

🐰 This Easter, #CleanCoasts are asking that you consider a different kind of Egg Hunt.🐣 🔍 Take a break from chocolate and search for SHARK eggs instead! 🦈 Read more at our blog: 👉 https://cleancoasts.exposure.co/shark-egg-case-hunting#CleanCoasts #2MinuteBeachClean #CleanCoastsObserver #CleanCoasts

Access to Justice - Planning to Fail assets.gov.ie/static/docum...

“Loss of nature is a loss of what it means to be Irish”. A clear statement of people’s values following a year long consultation. Translated into a plan for nature jointly devised by farm orgs and enviro NGOs. But will government fund it? #RTECountrywide Listen: 👉 www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

NEW: I’ve found an opaque financial vehicle owns a large chunk of the Observer. And neither it or the Guardian will say who it is. Why? Well there is a clue. Which goes by way of Saudi Arabia… 1/ open.substack.com/pub/broligar...

Clean water has been in the legal news a lot this week, throughout the island of Ireland. And while the legal and technical arguments can be lengthy and complicated, the aim is very simple. We're all working to try to protect our rivers, lakes and seas from pollution. Our waters are life.

" Ireland’s plan to let farmers spread more manure ran into a hard check Thursday, with a top EU court adviser warning the government can’t raise limits without proving it won’t pollute rivers, lakes or protected habitats."

So much for the "narrow interests" which the government says use judicial review. When they went out and asked people what they thought 1,470 asked for Access to Justice to be upheld, only 30 sided with the government So which interest is the "narrow interest"?

'The Republic needs tighter controls on farm pollution of rivers and lakes, the legal adviser to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has indicated' www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Government report on consultation on legal costs in planning and environmental litigation indicates that 98% of the almost 1,500 responses opposed the proposed scale of fees assets.gov.ie/static/docum...

This case has been a long time in the works. We first lodged legal papers in 2022. The AG Opinion underscores many of the points we've been raising for years, including that derogations need farm level assessment for Habitats Directive impacts, and WFD obligations have to be properly assessed.

The proposals “constitute a radical curtailment of access to judicial review, and are likely to have a disproportionately negative impact on ordinary people that FLAC represent trying to establish and vindicate their legal constitutional or fundamental rights.." www.irishlegal.com/articles/fla...

Shocking revelations about mining industry in Ireland aiding global arms trade. An Taisce are also looking at Aughinish Alumina over pollution concerns. An urgent investigation required into wide-ranging impacts of this plant - whether it's fuelling war abroad or polluting at home.

Remember, if you’re interested in what REALLY “drives” a lot of regional growth & infrastructure politics, it’s pretty much this. Great drawing via Ian Lockwood.

This is what our governments should be planning for. Ireland imports 80% of our food, instead of talking about ‘defence’ and energy security let’s do something about food security! #SpeirGorm

Water Quality Declines: “Given our poor track record on protecting water quality nationally, we're looking to European Commission to drive better compliance with EU law by Irish Government. Unfortunately, we do not believe this derogation decision achieved that." www.thejournal.ie/an-taisce-ni...

An Taisce has asked the EU Commission to review Ireland's latest nitrates derogation, which allows Ireland to use more nitrates than the rest of EU, despite our rivers being polluted with too much. As we said at the time, the decision had no scientific basis & failed nature, the public, & farmers.

This is an interesting case using the Commission's internal review procedure under the Aarhus Regulation to administratively review the latest Irish Derogation decision

@antaisce.bsky.social asks the @ec.europa.eu to reconsider its decision to extend the Irish derogation from the Nitrates Directive manure spreading limit for a further three years www.antaisce.org/news/water-q...

An Taisce has formally asked the European Commission to reconsider its decision to grant Ireland a nitrates derogation. The derogation decision was meant to be based on the science. EPA data shows that our water quality is declining, and nitrogen went up 10% in 2025. Make this make sense.

“This isn’t just about my livelihood – it’s about justice for the lough before there’s nothing left for the next generation.” The slow murder of Lough Neagh—the largest lake on the island of Ireland & across the British Isles—is a tragedy and a travesty. Go go Declan Conlon.

The best of luck to this brave man, and all the other parties fighting for clean water in this hugely important court case. Our rivers, lakes and seas deserve better.

Harms to Lough Neagh tragic & avoidable Meanwhile, Wexford's Lady's Island Lake similarly suffers: "This lake, from many points of view, is dead," said Dr Brendan O'Connor, co-author of EPA report indicating agricultural run-off source of excess nutrients — measuring 7x what it should be.

Standing in solidarity with communities and grassroots groups such as @saveloughneagh.com We are committed to seeking justice for Lough Neagh, whether that be inside our Courts or outside. #JusticeforLoughNeagh Credits: Thought Boxes & @stephenjreid.bsky.social youtu.be/aiXp79p9fOA

This is a powerful video from @friendsofearthni.bsky.social This is what is at stake for our rivers, lakes and seas. Their future belongs to, and depends on, all of us. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiXp...

along with *everything else* fertilizer also does this to our lungs www.agriland.ie/farming-news...

New data from EPA: 'Nitrogen concentrations in rivers increased by 10% in 2025 ... Nitrogen levels in south‑eastern half of country are too high to support good ecological health in water bodies ... Primary source of nitrogen in Irish rivers is agriculture' www.epa.ie/publications...

Greenpeace are pushing the New Zealand Gov to drastically reduce nitrate levels in drinking water, following Denmark's lead. Denmark plans to lower the legal WHO limit from 50mg/L NO3 to 5.8 mg/l NO3, due to elevated colorectal cancer risks. And in Ireland?... www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Holy shit. These people must be stopped. "By the end of 2025, an estimated 39% of the gas power capacity being developed in the US was designed to serve data centers...up from 5% at the end of 2024."

Another report from the EPA highlighting that nitrogen is too high in our waterways, particularly in the S & SE, with a 10% increase in 2025 compared to 2024. Tell me again how well the measures are working?... Remind me again why we got a new nitrates derogation?... www.epa.ie/publications...

This is both shocking and chilling The UN Rapporteur clearly highlighted that 'if discovery was granted, it would mean victims of intimidation and harassment were not safe to report their experiences to the Garda without risk of their confidential complaint being disclosed to the perpetrator.'

Interesting UK research: "To swim with the trouble of polluted waters is not to accept their degradation ... "Outdoor swimmers are reminded that the health and wellbeing of our bodies is bound to the quality of our waters and is folded into wider relations of cause and consequence."

Coolmore-linked company that pleaded guilty to illegally removing hedgerows on a farm in Tipperary in breach of EU regulations convicted and fined €100,000 ... hedgerows removed dated back to 1700s & 1800s with scale of hedgerow removal described as ‘vast’ www.tipperarylive.ie/news/farming...

Superbugs resistant to antibiotics are rising fast. I tested water at Lough Neagh (40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water) & found high levels of antibiotic-resistant genes from human & livestock poo. If we treat waterways like sewers, this is what we get. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Background to An Taisce's new Water Quality Case and why it is important An Taisce filed an application to the High Court seeking a judicial review of the Government's sixth Nitrates Action Programme earlier this week. To read more about the case: www.antaisce.org/news/backgro...

Dublin City Council has said that efforts to enforce rules on Bull Island have "proven futile", a remarkable statement. Would we tolerate people running amok in the National Gallery or at Newgrange? Hardly, so why can't we have rules at important nature sites? www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

*Great* talk by @whittledaway.bsky.social on the terrible state of nature in Ireland. As Pádraic argues so well, the solutions exist, and would massively benefit not just nature, but people, the economy, and the climate. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSxS...

Ireland's national trust takes legal action over latest government plan to cut agricultural water pollution #nitrates #bluegreenalgae #AnTaisce 🦠 @antaisce.bsky.social @swanireland.ie @foeireland.bsky.social @nhna.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/theearth...

Europe’s water protection is under attack ⚔️🌊 Behind calls to “simplify” the #WaterFrameworkDirective lies a Big Mining agenda to shred these vital protections - for profit 🤯 At a time of water scarcity and pollution, EU must defend our rivers, groundwater & drinking water 💧✊ #ProtectOurWater

"The term ‘scrub’ always seems to me too dismissive, even a little derogatory. It hardly reflects the value that these self-sown trees and shrubs bring to the landscape, especially considering the abysmal lack of deciduous trees and woods across Ireland." www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...

Water quality in Ireland is worsening: ... provisions in the programme have 'repeatedly failed to protect water quality. It is therefore profoundly unscientific & shortsighted to just continue those provisions in hope of achieving a better outcome this time round' www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Totally on board with my @envpillar.bsky.social colleagues on this. Why must we sacrifice doing the right thing again and again and again at the alter of maintaining business-as-usual? No, we shouldn't cut the carbon tax! Here's why: www.environmentalpillar.ie/suspending-o...

An Taisce seeks judicial review of nitrates action programme - new challenge launched to latest version of the programme www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

The public are strong in their view that clean water should be a national priority Scientific evidence shows that the 6th NAP simply doesn't provide the level of protection required for water quality in Ireland and will likely lead to its further deterioration www.antaisce.org/news/water-q...