Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1949. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will report on the actions being taken to improve water quality in rivers following the Environmental Protection Agency's report on river quality in Ireland, 2010 to 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38247/17]

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

2039. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the assistance he will provide to Fingal County Council to improve the quality of the water in the Tolka river in view of the recent report from the Environmental Protection Agency (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38246/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1949 and 2039 together.

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 adequately support aquatic ecosystems.  River basin management planning, structured in six-year cycles, is the tool prescribed by the Directive for achieving these aims.

As part of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive 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 2010-2015, was published on 31 August 2017.  The report provides an update on the status and trends in status of Irish waters following the completion of the first six-year cycle of the Water Framework Directive (2010–2015).

The overall finding of the report is that the quality of our surface waters has remained static since 2007-2009, with 57 per cent of rivers achieving either good or high status.  In this regard, nationally, there has been a 1 per cent decline in the number of high or good status river water bodies in 2010-2015 compared with the status reported in 2007-2009.

The second-cycle River Basin Management Plan (RBMP), for the period up to the year 2021, is currently under preparation, with a draft Plan having been published in February 2017 for a mandatory six-month public consultation process (available at:

).

The draft RBMP sets out comprehensive programmes of more than sixty measures to protect and restore water status.  These programmes of measures are specifically designed to address the significant pressures on water quality, such as agriculture, domestic waste water systems, urban waste water, urban run-off, forestry, the extractive industry, invasive species, physical modification, abstractions/diversions, industry, waste, historically polluted sites and water treatment.  Within these programmes of measures and in order to make best use of available resources, the implementation priorities are:

(i) full implementation of existing EU Directives;

(ii) preventing deterioration;

(iii) meeting the water-related objectives for protected areas;

(iv) protecting and restoring high status objective waters; and

(v) targeted actions in focus catchments.

Local authorities will play a critical role in the implementation of the programmes of measures.  In particular, the Local Authority National RBMP Office, supported by five regional committees, will have responsibility for co-ordinated delivery of measures at regional and local level.  This Office will be supported by a dedicated staffing resource, organised on a regional basis, to assist with measures to improve water quality and to conduct further technical work and investigation, as necessary.  My Department is currently working with the Local Authority sector regarding the establishment of this Office.

In the context of the development of the second-cycle RBMP for Ireland, there will be a single, national River Basin District (RBD) resulting from a merger of the Eastern, South Eastern, South Western, Western and Shannon RBDs that had been provided for in the first-cycle RBMPs.  As such, the draft second-cycle RBMP applies to all water bodies in the State, including the former Eastern RBD, of which the River Tolka forms part.

The finalised second-cycle RBMP is due for completion by the end of 2017, following a consideration of all the submissions received as a result of the public consultation process.