Six river catchments are the focus of a 20 million euro project to reverse long term decline in Ireland’s “high status” waters.
Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan has launched the Waters of LIFE strategic project, managed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage,
The strategic project involves 16 partners including government departments, State agencies, Local Authorities, and local development companies, with an overall budget of €20 million.
The aim is to reverse the long-term trend of decline in Ireland’s “high status” waters. High status rivers are those considered to be in pristine condition and rich in biodiversity and Ireland is one of a small number of EU member states that still has a number of high status water bodies. However, the number of remaining high-status sites has declined from 31.5% (1987-1990) to 19.9% (2017-2020), representing an almost 37% decline in number according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data.
The six catchments included in this scheme are,
- The Shournagh, Co Cork, near Tower and Blarney
- The Awbeg, Co. Cork, near Kanturk
- The Island River in the Galway/Roscommon area near Ballymoe
- Rivers in the catchment of Lough Graney, Co. Clare
- The Avonmore, Co. Wicklow
- The Sheen, Kerry, as a control river for the strategic project
The total budget under this LIFE Integrated project is €20,369,805 of which €9,500,000 has been committed by the European Union.
The LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. Since its creation in 1992, it has co-financed some 5000 projects across the EU, with a total contribution of approximately €6.5 billion for the protection of the environment and climate action.
Speaking at the project launch, Minister Malcolm Noonan TD said, “The ongoing loss of high status waters is among the most concerning, protracted and persistent water quality trends in Ireland. The six high status rivers selected for this scheme – and the communities, industries and local economy surrounding them – will benefit greatly from the implementation of locally-tailored solutions to be delivered through this scheme.”
“With 16 partners involved, this project will be highly collaborative in nature and the shared expertise among these partners will bring great benefit to the scheme. I also look forward to working together with the communities and landowners in each of the selected regions to bring out the best in these rivers.”