Alan Kelly
Ceist:320. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when Ireland will be in compliance with the +water framework directive. [44914/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 17 October 2023
Ceisteanna (320)
Freagraí scríofa
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) 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. River basin management planning, structured in six-year cycles, is the tool prescribed by the Directive for achieving these aims.
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) has been transposed into Irish law by a number of Regulations including the following.
• European Union (Water Policy) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 350 of 2014) (as amended)
• European Communities (Technical Specifications for the Chemical Analysis and Monitoring of Water Status) Regulations, 2011 (S.I. No. 489 of 2011)
• European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations, 2010 (S.I. No. 610 of 2010)
• European Communities Environmental Objectives (Groundwater) Regulations, 2010 (S.I. No. 9 of 2010)
• European Communities Environmental Objectives (Surface Waters) Regulations, 2009 (S.I. No. 272 of 2009)
• European Communities (Water Policy) Regulations, 2003 (S.I. No. 722 of 2003)
• European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 113 of 2022)
These Regulations are the primary set of regulations that transpose the WFD.
Building on the successful elements of the first River Basin Management Plans cycle, the Government introduced new structures for implementation of the WFD as part of the second-cycle river basin management plan that covered the period 2018-2021. Supporting the Minister of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, these new structures includes the Water Policy Advisory Committee (WPAC), which provides high-level policy direction and oversight of implementation. The National Coordination and Management Committee (NCMC), formed under WPAC, ensures that the measures necessary to achieve our objectives are implemented in an efficient, effective and co-ordinated way. The National Technical Implementation Group (NTIG), co-ordinates ongoing tracking of implementation and provides a forum for knowledge sharing. Finally, the regional local authority structures, comprising of 5 regional committees, drive delivery of supporting measures at local level.
These structures are further supported by the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO). Funded by my Department, LAWPRO is responsible for;
• Co-ordinating efforts by local authorities, public bodies and other stakeholders to achieve the water quality objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive
• Supporting local communities to get involved in caring for their local waters and participate in decision making and river basin management plans, and
• Applying catchment science to identify the issues impacting on water quality in a number of Priority Areas for Action and to refer them to the relevant bodies for action.
As part of the implementation of the WFD in Ireland, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged with, inter alia, the monitoring of water status in order to establish a comprehensive overview of water status within each river basin district. The EPA’s most recent report in this regard, Water Quality in Ireland 2016-2021, was published in 2022. The EPA also takes the lead role in reporting on behalf of Ireland to the EU Commission and to the European Environment Agency on the implementation of WFD tasks.
My Department is currently preparing the third River Basin Management Plan for Ireland, to cover the WFD third cycle, and which will be published shortly. A key commitment in the new Programme for Government, a new revised and strengthened River Basin Management Plan will advance Ireland’s commitment to the implementation of the WFD.
Building on the work of the second-cycle, this plan will again describe the main pressures and activities affecting water status and set out the environmental objectives to be achieved up to 2027 and identify the measures needed to achieve these objectives.