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River Basin Management Plans

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2018

Tuesday, 12 June 2018

Questions (1274)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

1274. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the 190 priority catchments identified by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, in consultation with other Government agencies under the Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme to promote on-farm sustainability best practice to farmers in tabular form. [24273/18]

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Written answers

The River Basin Management Plan for Ireland 2018-2021, which was published in April 2018, sets out the actions that Ireland will take to improve water quality and achieve ‘good’ ecological status in water bodies (rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters) by 2027. Ireland is required to produce river basin management plans under the Water Framework Directive.

The River Basin Management Plan for Ireland 2018-2021, which was published in April 2018, sets out the actions that Ireland will take to improve water quality and achieve ‘good’ ecological status in water bodies (rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters) by 2027. Ireland is required to produce river basin management plans under the Water Framework Directive.

During the development of this Plan, a prioritisation exercise was undertaken by the local authorities, the EPA and other stakeholders to identify those water bodies that require immediate action within this plan cycle to 2021. During this catchment characterisation, the EPA identified those water bodies adjudged to be either at risk of not achieving their objectives, or under review.

Led jointly by the EPA and the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, a collaborative workshop process involving senior local authority personnel and all relevant stakeholders was set up to identify, at a regional level, those water bodies that should be prioritised for action during this planning cycle. This process was based on the priorities outlined in the Plan, on the evidence from the characterisation process and on the data and knowledge of public authority personnel. The outcome of this prioritisation process was the selection of 190 areas for action across our River Basin District. Within these 190 areas, a total of 726 water bodies were selected for initial actions during this RBMP cycle.

The actions involve multidisciplinary and cross-agency approaches. One such action is the creation of an Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme. The Programme involves the provision of 30 new sustainability advisors who will work collaboratively with farmers in prioritised areas for action, providing advice and support which will enable them to contribute to the protection and enhancement of water quality.

Details of the 190 areas for action are set out in Appendix 2 of the River Basin Management Plan, and are also available on the catchments website at: https://www.catchments.ie/areas-for-action/.

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