EPA director Laura Burke has told the Department of Agriculture that Irish farming's 'green' reputation is not supported by evidence.
She has said that agricultural practices are identified in EPA reports as being one of the main pressures responsible for the decline in water quality nationally.
Environmental journalist and commentator John Gibbons and farmer, broadcaster and columnist with the Irish Independent, Darragh McCullough joined Kieran on Tuesday's edition of The Hard Shoulder to debate.