My Department is currently preparing the third River Basin Management Plan for Ireland, to cover the period up to 2027. This plan will build on the work of the second-cycle, and will again describe the main pressures and activities affecting water status, set out the environmental objectives to be achieved up to 2027 and identify the measures needed to achieve these objectives, including those highlighted by the EPA.
This plan is being prepared in response to the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy) which establishes a common framework for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater. The overall aim of the Directive is to maintain high and good status waters where they exist and to restore waters that do not currently reach these standards with varying deadlines from 2015 through to 2027. River Basin Management Plan (with its associated programme of measures) is the tool prescribed by the Directive for achieving these aims.
