Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The ‘Priority Areas for Action’ or PAAs are defined under the River Basin Management Plan which is under the remit of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

A total of 310 Priority Areas for Action have been selected for the third cycle River Basin Management Plan which is currently in draft form and due to run to 2027. This represents a significant increase on the 189 Priority Areas for Action selected under the second cycle River Basin Management Plan.

The Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), manage the work in the Priority Areas for Action and where agriculture is identified as a potential risk to water quality it is referred to the local advisor from the Agricultural Sustainability, Support and Advisory Programme or ASSAP. The ASSAP advisor then provides farmers with advice and confidential support on potential measures to mitigate this risk.

The learnings from LAWPRO’s work in the PAAs will inform work in other Areas for Action and highlight best catchment management practice to be applied in all water bodies across the country.

The ASSAP programme commenced in 2019 with 29 advisors and has since expanded to its present 44 advisors. Twenty of these advisors are managed by Teagasc and funded by the Government through my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The ASSAP advisors work closely with catchment scientists from LAWPRO, providing farmers with confidential advice focused on preventing nutrient losses to water.

A review of ASSAP took place in 2021. It identified the need to continue and expand the programme. In response, the two Government Departments involved have committed to continue providing funding. At the same time, the dairy processors have committed additional advisors to the Programme.

In addition, in response to the 2021 Review of ASSAP, the Government has committed significant funding to support a Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP) with the objective of incentivising and rewarding farmers who are willing to go beyond meeting baseline regulatory requirements to improve water quality. The call for proposals under this EIP closed earlier this year and the proposals that were submitted are currently being evaluated.

The Water EIP is expected to significantly build on, and further extend, the positive work of the ASSAP programme. Farms in a Priority Area for Action in the second or third River Basin Management Plan are expected to be prioritised for participation and engagement under this EIP.