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2025 Catchment Support Fund: supporting community organisations working to improve water quality

Saturday 9 November 2024: LAWPRO has launched the 2025 Catchment Support Fund at the Communities Caring for Water conference in Athlone. The fund will help build the capacity of non-governmental organisations working in the area of water quality in Ireland by providing funding toward core organisational running costs.

The Catchment Support Fund is a direct response to community feedback and various reviews undertaken in recent years. Over €500,000 was awarded to 37 organisations earlier in 2024 in what was the first year of the Fund.

“We are delighted to be able to continue supporting organisations working to improve water quality. Community engagement is fundamental in dealing with local issues and this fund empowers groups to grow their capacity to protect their local rivers, lakes, coastal areas and the surrounding environment.”
Anthony Coleman, Director of Services at LAWPRO

A key element of LAWPRO’s Catchment Support Fund is to assist the development of entities who can provide additional vital water quality services to communities and support the objectives of the new Water Action Plan for Ireland.

Under the 2025 Catchment Support Funding call, organisations are invited to apply for financial assistance under Strand 1 to support organisational costs such as statutory and/or legal fees, insurance costs associated with catchment management, accountancy fees, website annual support costs, an organisation’s promotional materials and group development activities.

In cases where an organisation has Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG status and a proven track record with LAWPRO, organisations are also invited to apply for Strand 2 funding for capacity building including staff costs, rent and rates.

Learn more:

The fund will open for applications on 22 November 2024 via LAWPRO’s online portal: Surveys | Online Consultation Portal of the Waters and Communities Office

About author

EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.

Local Authority Waters Programme

The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.