Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 157: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the discussions he has had on the need to create a single agency on the management of rivers and river basins here. [3882/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The transposition of the Water Framework Directive in 2003 saw the establishment of eight river basin districts on the island of Ireland providing, for the first time, for the management of water on a catchment basis.

Implementation of the Directive is being progressed through River Basin District projects led by co-ordinating local authorities. A River Basin District project office, funded by my Department, was established in each of seven districts to coordinate the making of River Basin Management Plans with the aim of protecting and improving the water environment within the catchment.

The task of preparing river basin management plans has brought a new level of cooperation between the various existing public authorities involved in water management, and these plans will also be coordinated with other relevant plans including flood risk management plans to be prepared by the OPW as part of the implementation of the Floods Directive.

A National Advisory Committee was established in 2009 to coordinate work on the finalisation of plans and with a view to overseeing their subsequent implementation. The Committee is considering options for the structural arrangements best suited to ensuring that the plans are implemented effectively.