The EPA has criticised Uisce Éireann for the slow pace of upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
Its latest report shows there are 16 towns and villages including Whitegate and Ballycotton in Cork discharging raw sewage on a daily basis because public sewers aren't connected to treatment plants.
Upgrade works required in Cloyne and three other locations around the country may take until the end of the decade to complete
Noel Byrne from the Environmental Protection Agency says the response hasn't been good enough
"We have seen progress. so there were thirteen areas around the country that were discharging fifteen hundred tons of raw sewage per day, they've been resolved since the start of 2023, which is really very positive. However, we have seen that over half the treatment plants didn't always meet their licensed standards set to protect environment, which really isn't good enough"
