Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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492. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide an update on work being carried out by his Department in conjunction with Inland Fisheries Ireland and an organisation (details supplied) to improve the flow of the River Slaney at Clohamon, County Wexford and to assist the passage of fish, including salmon on the River Slaney; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64939/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The National Barrier Mitigation Programme (BMP) is being delivered by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI). It is being funded through my Department as part of the programme of measures under the 2024 Water Action Plan. The aims of the BMP are to increase the habitat available for migratory fish and restore natural sediment processes in rivers that provide important habitats for a range of native species on a national scale.

The Barrier Mitigation Division in IFI has been working to procure a consultant to undertake an options and feasibility study for the River Slaney at Clohamon. The tender assessment is now complete, and letters of intent have issued to the successful tenderer. The next step is to formally appoint the consultant.

Over the coming weeks, IFI will schedule kick off meetings with the consultant to fully brief on the scope and expectations for the project. Following this, IFI intend to meet with interested parties to brief them on progress and also to obtain feedback from stakeholders.

The Chair of the IFI Board has written to the Slaney River Trust to inform the organisation of this development.