A new National Plan to improve water quality and restore freshwater habitats has been announced by Minister Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan.

The 'Water Action Plan 2024: Ireland's third River Basin Management Plan' national policy is a key commitment in the Programme for Government and a key step in delivering on Ireland's obligations under the EU Water Framework Directive.

The Water Action Plan sets out a roadmap to restore Ireland's waterbodies 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 in the Plan include tighter controls on the use of fertilisers that impact water quality, a greater focus on compliance and enforcement with over 60 new staff at local level, and a target or 4,500 farm inspections per year. In addition, continued investment in wastewater infrastructure will see Uisce Éireann investing 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.

Speaking at the launch on the banks of the River Nore at Grennan Mill, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, Minister 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. 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, coordination 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.

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"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. 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."

Commenting on the launch, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O'Brien TD said: "This new Water Action Plan is a critical part of the Programme for Government. 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."

Attending the launch today, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth of Ireland, Roderic O'Gorman TD, added: "The launch of the Water Action Plan 2024 delivers on a crucial commitment in the Programme for Government, and is a significant achievement in helping Ireland meet its European and international obligations. Water is a critical link in environmental health and biodiversity, and plays a key role in strengthening the resilience of our social, economic and environmental systems. The Water Action Plan 2024 will put us on course to achieve our environmental objectives to deliver the clean water necessary to safeguard public health, support economic growth, protect our natural ecosystems and help preserve our water heritage for future generations."

The launch also saw the announcement of the Community Water Development Fund for 2025. Administered by the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), with funding from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the scheme provides funding to local communities and groups to support the delivery of projects and initiatives to enhance local water bodies and benefit water quality and biodiversity.

Stressing the importance of the fund, Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning, Alan Dillon TD said: "Today we are also delighted to announce the Community Water Development Fund for 2025, which funds local community projects to enhance their local streams, rivers and lakes. The Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), will administer these funds, which play an important role in the Water Action Plan 2024 as they focus on the participation of the public in water quality and biodiversity."