Environmental Issues in The Republic of Ireland

Environmental Issues in The Republic of Ireland

Introduction

The environment in Ireland has come under duress more lately than that of several other countries. In addition to this, many favorable circumstances, counting demographic and climatic factors, have predisposed to alleviate the possible impacts of the pressures that cropped up increasingly over the latter half of the 20th century. Hence, overall due to these reasons, the environmental quality of Ireland remains fairly good in comparison to most of the counties in Europe. However, a number of issues now arise in relation to the current state of Ireland's environment, and some of them demand especial attention from the regulatory authorities in Ireland (Doyle, 2012).

Discussion

The five most significant environmental issues faced by Ireland these days are:

Eutrophication of Inland Waters

The eutrophication of inland waters is widespread at present and the most recent water quality review observed an ongoing deterioration. Due to these reasons, it is possibly the most severe environmental pollution problem of Ireland. In order to deal with it effectively, it is important to implement the 1998 Phosphorus Regulations, with noteworthy diminutions in the most important sources of phosphorus particularly agriculture (Cunningham, 2007).

Litter and Waste

A lot of great efforts will be required for ensuring prevention, minimization and recycling of waste if the Republic of Ireland is to meet up the targets defined by EU and to restrain the dramatic increase in waste volumes. For this, much more emphasis on centralized composting is highly recommended. It seems possible that thermal treatment with energy upturn for municipal wastes will be brought up for bigger urban areas. The issue of litter ought to be undertaken through a mixture of strong penalties and education with effectual enforcement.

Transport and the Urban Environment

With the numbers of vehicles expected to keep on increasing, it has ...