Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 January 2022
451. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the national river barriers programme; the rivers and barriers that are being considered under this programme; the funding allocated for barrier removal and remediation; the timeline for completion of individual projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63074/21]
View answerMy Department is currently holding a public consultation exercise in a relation to Ireland's draft 3rd River Basin Management Plan which includes objectives in relation to improving the environmental condition of Ireland's rivers. The National Barrier Programme (NBP) is an important element of the plan and is a matter for Inland Fisheries Ireland in the first instance. Since its establishment in 2018 the Programme has delivered tools that significantly enhance barrier detection and assessment, and establish an inventory which can inform prioritisation and mitigation of these structures. To date, the national inventory of barrier structures is approximately 30% complete. The National Barrier Database contains approximately 73,000 potential barriers (identified during the first barriers programme cycle between 2018 and 2021); it is estimated that 10,100 of these have a high probability of being barriers to fish passage on the Irish river network.
The second cycle of the National Barrier Programme beginning this year will continue the works required to deliver an inventory of barrier structures on Irish rivers. The National Barrier Programme is supported by applied studies that will inform best practice approaches to barrier mitigation. This data will make a significant contribution to finalising the Programme of Measures to be included in the 3rd cycle of the River Basin Management Plan for the years 2022-2027.
This programme will consider barrier structures on all Irish rivers. It will also include the development of a national, regional and catchment-based prioritisation process to identify structures requiring mitigation; and provide supporting information for funding proposals for mitigation works.
In addition, there is provision for a data-led research and monitoring programme to evaluate the impact of barriers and the effectiveness of various management approaches.
Funding allocations for barrier removal and remediation will be finalised as part of the proposed hydromorphology measures in the River Basin Management Plan 2022-2027 later in 2022.
