A plan to improve water quality in Ireland and restore freshwater habitats has been launched by the Government.
Malcolm Noonan, Minister of State with responsibility for nature, heritage and electoral reform, said the water action plan 2024 is a key step in delivering on obligations under the EU water framework directive.
Mr Noonan said the plan sets out a roadmap to restore Ireland’s water bodies to “good” status or better, and protect against further deterioration in the period from 2023 to 2027 through an integrated catchment management approach.
Key actions include tighter controls on the use of fertilisers that impact water quality, a greater focus on compliance and enforcement with more than 60 new staff at local level, and a target of 4,500 farm inspections per year.
In addition, continued investment in wastewater infrastructure will see Uisce Eireann spending a multi-billion euro budget over the period 2025-2029 to reduce impacts on water quality.
A new national river barriers mitigation programme will ramp up efforts to remove river blocks that impact on species like salmon and lamprey swimming upstream to spawn, and a review of arterial drainage requirements and the underpinning Arterial Drainage Act will be undertaken in the context of land use.
Mr Noonan said: “It’s well past time to clean up our rivers, lakes and coasts, and that’s what we’re doing with this new water action plan.
Malcolm Noonan has launched the new plan to restore water bodies in Ireland (Damien Storan/PA)
“There are three core aims: to prevent and reduce water pollution, to let more rivers run free and restore their natural ecosystem functions, and to continue the positive trajectory of investment in water infrastructure.
“This new plan will deliver on this through an approach that embeds better governance, co-ordination and accountability, putting tighter controls, more inspections and a focus on enforcement alongside a stronger evidence base for actions that tackle the right problems in the right places.”
He added: “Crucially, communities are at the heart of the effort and will be empowered to understand the challenges in their area and get involved in solving them through new participation structures.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said the plan was a crucial part of the programme for government (Brian Lawless/PA)
“As our population grows and our climate changes, it’s vital that everyone puts their shoulder to the wheel to protect the vulnerable water resources that we all depend on.”
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said the plan was a crucial part of the programme for government.
He said: “It strategically builds on what we learned from previous plans and its combination of short and long-term goals, targets and actions will work in unison to protect the quality of our water bodies.
“This plan puts us on a strong course to protecting our ecosystems and meeting our EU and international obligations.”