Catchment News

Home News Public Information and Feedback Sessions: Recommended Areas for Action

Public Information and Feedback Sessions: Recommended Areas for Action

The draft River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) for the second cycle of the Water Framework Directive was published on the 28th February 2017, for a six month public consultation period.

This public consultation ended on the 31st August. During this time the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office convened a series of meetings to engage with communities and other stakeholders. The comments received will now be considered in preparing the final River Basin Management Plan to be published in early 2018, by the Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government.

In addition, a characterisation and prioritisation assessment was carried out on all the water bodies within Ireland and a selected number of water bodies were chosen as priority areas for action. These will be included within the River Basin Management Plan. Local authorities will be holding public information sessions to provide feedback on the selected ‘Areas for Action’.

The briefing session will consist of a short presentation on the draft River Basin Management Plan consultation, an outline of the ‘Areas for Action’ and the reasons for selection, followed by an opportunity for question and answers. This is an opportunity for you to express any concerns or comments at this stage before the River Basin Management Plan is finalised.

There will be one meeting per local authority and meetings scheduled are listed on the Waters and Communities office website. For more information please contact your relevant local authority.

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.