A TD has warned that farmers must be supported to "manage what they are doing" on land near Ireland's largest saltwater lagoon, Lady's Island Lake.

The Social Democrat's spokesperson for Climate, Environment and Energy, Transport, Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine, Wicklow TD, Jennifer Whitmore, has also voiced her concerns that Lady's Island Lake "may not have that much longer".

Coastal lagoons are priority habitats under Annex I of the Habitats Directive which means that Ireland is obligated by law to protect and restore this habitat.

Deputy Whitmore told an Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy, that there have been "problems at Lady's Island Lake for more than 40 years". 

The Wicklow TD also highlighted that "solutions have been identified" for problems in relation to the lake.

The committee met to discuss the findings of the Coastal Lagoons: Ecology and Restoration (CLEAR) report, which was proposed by stakeholders and was funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The report highlighted "severe degradation in Lady’s Island Lake with over 10 times higher chlorophyll a levels".

The EPA report also stated that "runoff of excessive nutrient inputs of nitrogen and possibly phosphorus from agriculture are identified as the main cause of eutrophication". 

According to Deputy Whitmore there are 56 farms at Lady's Island Lake, which she said "is not a lot, and it is not an insurmountable problem to support these farmers to manage what they are doing on the land so they are not impacting on the site".

The committee heard that seven farms in the area are currently in derogation

Deputy Whitmore told the committee that she had been down at Lady's Island recently.

"I have questions about how farms are managing their slurry and nitrogen on site," Deputy Whitmore added.

Dr. Brendan O'Connor, founder of Aquafact, a Co. Galway environmental company, told the committee that the current state of the lake was a contrast 'from the near pristine conditions of the lake in the 1970s'.

But Brendan Cooney, senior executive scientist with Wexford County Council, said it "will take time" for the lake to be restored to it's former status.

However Cooney also told the committee that the council has had "great engagement" with farmers.

"If nitrate levels are reduced, there will have to be changes in the department's rules or we will have to help farmers to farm in a slightly different way," he added.

Cooney was also asked from a policy perspective if he had any view or advice in relation to the nitrates derogation.

He said: "An awful lot more restrictions have been made".

Cooney also said the problem in Lady's Island Lake "is not getting worse" and "there is now a need to let it settle for a while".