A new report has found that almost a quarter of Ireland's biggest waste water treatment plants do not meet EU standards.
The findings of the Environmental Protection Agency show 38 plants are failing when it comes to treating sewage properly - that includes sites in Dublin and Cork.
It says 44 areas have no waste water treatment and are discharging raw sewage straight in to the sea in some cases.
The EPA says Irish Water has inherited a system suffering from a legacy of under-investment and that the priorities must be to eliminate raw sewage discharges, reduce the pollution impact of sewage and improve the performance of existing wastewater infrastructure.
