Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan has recently launched the €20 million Waters of LIFE strategic project, which aims to reverse the long-term trend of decline in Ireland’s high-status waters.  

High-status rivers are those considered to be in pristine condition and rich in biodiversity. Agriculture accounts for 22% of the pressures acting on such water bodies, according to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

While Ireland is one of a small number of EU member states that still has several high-status water bodies, the number of remaining sites has declined from 31.5% (1987-1990) to 19.9% (2017-2020), according to data by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

The six catchments included in this scheme are:

The Shournagh, the Awbeg, the Island River and the Avonmore are all under significant pressure due to agriculture, the department said.

Speaking at the project launch, Minister Noonan said the ongoing loss of high-status waters is among the most concerning, protracted and persistent water-quality trends in Ireland. He added:

The project will include a demonstration project to develop, test, and validate integrated catchment management measures to halt and reverse the declining number of high-status water bodies in Ireland.

Minister Noonan said there is no doubt many learnings will be found and can be applied to future efforts to preserve and improve Ireland's high-status waters.

Key objectives of the Waters of LIFE strategic project up to 2028 will be:

This LIFE integrated project, which is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action, has a budget of €20,369,805 out of which €9,500,000 have been committed by the European Union.

The project is managed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and involves 16 partners including the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Teagasc and the EPA.

The minister looks forward to working together with the communities and landowners in each of the selected regions to bring out the best in these rivers.