Faster progress is needed across Europe to protect water and better manage flood risks, the European Commission has warned.

“Ireland has failed to comply with its legal obligation” and did not send up to date information on water quality before the due deadline the European Commission said.

The has therefore “launch[ed] legal proceedings” against Ireland.

The case was lodged at the European Court of Justice last year and is awaiting the next stage.

Ireland did publish a “Water Action Plan” in September, but this does not seem to have been taken into account by the EU.

The European Commission said it was not able to produce Ireland-specific recommendations on River Basin Management without that plan.

But the EU warns that water pollution continues to be a problem across Europe.

“What we see is that member states have done – since the [19]90s – huge improvement on nutrient pollution, but they are stagnating now”, an EU official said.

“In order to keep that downward trend, very radical measures are needed which are politically very difficult to take in the farming community”.

Ireland currently has an opt out from the toughest rules on nitrate pollution. In the Programme for Government, the new coalition has promised to lobby the EU for another exemption.

“This government will do everything within its power to make the case at EU level to secure the retention of the Nitrates Derogation given our unique grass-based production model. We will work with famers, industry, state agencies and local authorities to develop evidence-based solutions to assist farmers in improving water quality”, it wrote.

Now the European Commission has announced that it wants to see “increase compliance[d] with EU water laws by adhering to pollution limits, particularly nutrient pollution from agriculture, and ensuring that wastewater discharge is dealt with properly to protect the environment and human health.”

It looks like the Irish government and the European Commission are on a collision course on the issue.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage puts reasons for river water quality decline down to “increasing loss into water of polluting phosphorus and nitrogen from farmland, inadequately treated waste water and physical impacts on water bodies, due to river barriers, and drainage of lands and rivers.”

Meanwhile, the EU is also concerned about flood risk.

According to information provided to the European Commission by the government, Ireland has 199 “Areas of Potential Significant Flood Risk”.

These are areas where flooding is likely to happen at least once every ten years.

Dublin City and the Raphoe in County Donegal “have been identified as having significant risk from pluvial floods”, according to the report.

That means there is a danger of flooding as a result of heavy rainfall.

In its recommendations, the European Commission said that Ireland needs to offer “more clarity” about high flood risk zones.

Flood Risk Management Plans should contain objectives which are “measurable and where possible linked to quantitative indicators and be timebound”.

Clear information on “overall cost of measures” should also be provided, including a cost benefit analysis of remedial work.

Across Europe, the assessment of the implementation of the Floods Directive shows “notable improvements in flood risk management, better alignment of objectives and measures, and consideration of challenges posed by climate change.”

Nevertheless, most flood plans “failed to include quantitative targets, making it difficult to draw conclusions as to the effectiveness of flood risk management.”

With more frequent and severe floods in Europe, “Member States need to expand their planning and administrative capacity, and adequately invest in flood prevention”, the European Commission urged.

Nature charity WWF said that the European Commission reports “paint a concerning picture of slow progress and missed opportunities in addressing Ireland’s water challenges.”