Air pollution is linked to around 1,500 premature deaths in Ireland each year. That figure stands even though Ireland met every EU air quality limit in 2025. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set out the findings in its Air Quality in Ireland 2025 report, published in October 2026. The bigger

COP31 opened on 9 November in Antalya, Turkey, with close to 200 countries under pressure to turn climate promises into action. Ireland is leading the EU’s negotiating effort at the talks. Yet the EPA projects Ireland will cut emissions by up to 25% by 2030, half its legal target. At

Saltwater intrusion is contaminating freshwater supplies along coastlines worldwide, and Ireland’s coast is at risk. When seawater seeps into an aquifer, it raises salt levels in the wells and boreholes that homes, farms and businesses rely on. Salty water is unpleasant to drink, but the damage goes further. High chloride

Teagasc analysed 39,033 soil samples in 2025, a 44% fall on the year before. The drop hit every major farm enterprise, with drystock samples down 62%. Yet three in four samples still fell short of sufficient soil fertility. Fewer farmers are testing at a time when most soils need attention.

Some 90% of Ireland’s protected habitats are in unfavourable condition, and more than half are still getting worse. The Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) issued the warning in a new report this week. It says the decline leaves Ireland more exposed to flooding, drought and wildfires, and that current biodiversity

Storm Boelo dropped heavy rain on ground that Storm Austen had left saturated. If floodwater reached your private well, your drinking water may now carry E. coli, slurry runoff or septic tank waste. Most of these risks have no colour, taste or smell. A laboratory test is the one way

Borussia Dortmund’s players left Baku’s Olympic Stadium without showering after their Champions League win on 20 October 2026. German newspaper Bild reported the club feared Legionella bacteria in the stadium’s water system. The story shines a light on the risk of Legionella in showers that sit unused for days. That

Heavy metals in soil do not break down. Cadmium, lead, copper and zinc that reach a field can stay there for decades, and some move into grass, crops and livestock. Local geology sets the starting point, but farm inputs add to it. Biosolids, pig slurry and old mine workings can

The EU’s chemicals agency wants trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) classified as toxic to reproduction. Trifluoroacetic acid is a “forever chemical” found in rain, rivers, groundwater and tap water across Europe. On 6 October 2026, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published its scientific committee’s final opinion and sent it to the European

Soil organic matter is a small part of most soils, but it drives much of what they do. It holds soil together, stores water, feeds soil life and releases nutrients to crops and grass. But a standard soil test only covers pH, phosphorus and potassium. Unless you add an organic

Ireland has 298 historic landfills, according to local authorities. Only 31 hold EPA certification. That is about 10%, almost 18 years after the rules requiring it came in. Council site investigations have linked some of these sites to elevated ammonia in nearby rivers and streams. The figures come from a

The EU has rewritten its rules on dangerous substances in water. Directive (EU) 2026/805 entered into force on 10 May 2026. Ireland must transpose it into national law by 21 December 2027. The new law updates the list of priority substances, tightens several standards and widens the test for good

Illegal dumping is rising again in Ireland. One clean-up project in the Dublin and Wicklow uplands expects a 44% increase in dumped waste this year. Construction waste has turned up on Offaly boglands. The damage caused by illegal dumping does not stay on the surface. Contaminants can move into soil

River nitrogen levels in Ireland are rising again. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that nitrogen in major rivers rose 4.3% year on year in early 2026. That marks a second year in a row of increases. Pressure is heaviest in the south and south-east, where intensive farming and free-draining

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has issued a Listeria recall for six chicken ready meals. The FSAI published two separate alerts on 18 September 2026 over the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes. Consumers should not eat the implicated batches.  The recall covers products from Fit Foods, Chef Select,

Ireland’s first Nature Restoration Plan is taking shape, but the data behind it is incomplete. Government guidance says delivery approaches, prioritisation and some data are under development. Nine in ten of Ireland’s EU-protected habitats are in poor condition. Restoring them starts with measuring them. Table of Contents What the Nature

Ireland looks small on a map, but its soil is not simple. Two ends of the same field can hold completely different soil types, with different pH, structure and nutrient-holding capacity. Soil testing Ireland-wide exists for exactly this reason. A single soil test only tells you about the patch of

Toxic blue-green algal blooms are appearing earlier and covering more water across Europe. In August 2026, health authorities in Rostock, Germany, confirmed toxin-producing cyanobacteria in the Baltic Sea off Warnemünde and warned swimmers away from affected beach sections. Satellite imagery showed a related bloom stretching across the Arkona Basin, between

PFAS have earned the name “forever chemicals” because standard water treatment does not break them down. For decades, the best available option was to capture PFAS and store or bury them. That is starting to change. A wave of new PFAS destruction technologies now aims to destroy PFAS molecules instead of

A supersized El Niño is set to bring a wetter, milder autumn to Ireland, and the risk does not stop at the weather forecast. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says El Niño will strengthen into a very strong event over the coming months, with an almost certain chance that it