Government accused of 'dropping the ball' on plans to protect waterways

The Sustainable Water Network, made up of 25 environmental groups such as Cork Environmental Forum, Cork Nature Network, Birdwatch Ireland, and the Irish Wildlife Trust, accused the Government of dropping the ball in relation to the current River Basin Management Plan. Picture: Larry Cummins

The Government has come under fire from a range of environmental organisations over perceived weaknesses in its plans to safeguard coastal areas, rivers, and lakes — half of which still show significant levels of pollution.

The Sustainable Water Network (Swan), made up of 25 environmental groups such as Cork Environmental Forum, Cork Nature Network, Birdwatch Ireland, and the Irish Wildlife Trust, accused the Government of dropping the ball in relation to the current River Basin Management Plan.

The plan, the third in the past 13 years, is currently out for public consultation until the end of this month. It aims to "help Ireland protect, improve and sustainably manage our water environment to 2027", according to the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage.

According to the EU's Water Framework Directive (WFD), which became law in October 2000, EU member states must have "good" water quality of in rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries and coastal waters, by 2027 at the latest.

River Basin Management plans are unveiled in six-year cycles, and the latest will bring Ireland up to the EU's 2027 deadline.

Swan organisations said the latest plan in its current form was not ambitious enough, adding that half of Ireland's rivers, lakes, and coastal areas were unhealthy.

"With river water quality in decline and water pollution now rising at an unprecedented rate, the network of 25 environmental organisations sees this as a water crisis that will persist under the proposed plan," Swan said.

The group has now launched a ‘Restore Our Waters’ campaign, with a series of recommendations it says could tackle the issues at hand.

Swan coordinator Sinéad O'Brien said: 

“While there are some welcome improvements in the draft plan, what is most disappointing is its lack of ambition. The plan as it stands is a hotch-potch of actions and aspirations that may, or may not, restore some of our water bodies to health.

"In fact, under law we must restore all our waters by 2027, but this plan lacks the specific, targeted and time-bound measures that would provide a clear path to achieving this.

“One of our key recommendations is to introduce a prohibition on wetland drainage and to develop a national wetland restoration plan. This would not only restore our rivers, lakes, and improve water quality, it would also deliver immense benefits for climate, nature and flood resilience.” 

Conspicuous by its absence within the current plan is a plan to tackle sewage, according to Swan.

Ms O'Brien said: "Sewage is the main source of pollution in 208 waterbodies, yet the proposed plan doesn’t include measures to fix these by the 2027 deadline.

"The fact that raw and poorly treated sewage is still being released into our rivers, lakes and seas is completely unacceptable. The plan should include a requirement that the Irish Water Investment Plan includes action to halt sewage pollution in these waters, as a priority.”