Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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1155. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will allocate the necessary funding for the restoration of the weir and development of a fish pass in Fermoy, County Cork, considering that the project is vital to maintain adequate water levels upstream in the Blackwater River (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45211/25]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is responsible for water protection and nature protection. These responsibilities include the implementation of river basin management planning under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the implementation of requirements arising out of the Habitats Directive and the Nature Restoration Regulations.

The Water Action Plan 2024 published by my Department sets out a roadmap to restore Ireland’s water bodies (rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters) to ‘good status’ or better and to protect water from any further deterioration as required under the WFD. Currently 448 water bodies nationally are at risk of not achieving their environmental objectives under the WFD because of historical physical modifications. River barriers, such as existing weirs, are included on the list of potential risks to WFD and Habitats Directive environmental objectives.

As a consequence of these risks, the 2024 Water Action Plan contains a specific action in relation to river barriers. Action Hymo 3 states that Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) “....will establish a restoration programme to mitigate the negative impact of past construction in or near rivers.”

The IFI, in conjunction with my Department and the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE), recently established a Barrier Mitigation Fund Scheme to support the work of the National Barriers Mitigation Programme. The Barrier Mitigation Fund Scheme will be administered by the IFI.

The fund aims to support capital works to improve connectivity within river systems which have been fragmented by barriers. Suitable projects will be considered for the funding / co-funding of mitigation or removal actions.

The scheme is currently in the design phase and is expected to go live in 2026. However, it is anticipated that applications to this fund will be evaluated according to their alignment with national environmental objectives (Water Framework Directive, Habitats Directive and the Nature Restoration Regulations).

It is a matter for each local authority to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources.