Concern that gov proposal lowers protection for rivers and lakes

Agriland

26-05-2025

The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) and the Rivers Trust are raising the alarm over a government plan that would make it easier to damage hundreds of rivers, lakes, and coastal waters across the country.
According to the groups, under the proposed plan protections for 466 stretches of water would be weakened by labelling them 'heavily modified water bodies'.
The groups believe the label is a 'technical term' that, in practice, means they would no longer have to meet the same high standards for environmental health as other rivers and lakes.
They claim this gives the green light for widespread dredging, digging, and clearance works that harm rivers, riverbanks and other wildlife habitats such as salmon pools.
Both SWAN and the Rivers Trust claim that the changes would affect 10% of Ireland's waters.
Rivers
SWAN CEO, Sinéad O'Brien believes that the proposal is 'reckless' and that it shows 'disregard for the public'.
She said: 'The government's plan to lower protections for one in 10 of our rivers, lakes, and coastal waters, without evidence or proper explanation, shows disregard for the public.
'People could be forgiven for thinking this is just a way to make our poor water quality stats look better on paper. But it's out of step with EU rules and puts wildlife like kingfishers, otters and trout at risk.'
'This must be stopped until proper assessments of possible restoration measures and of all alternative options are carried out,' she explained.
The plan is part of a formal government consultation, but SWAN and the Rivers Trust say the process has been confusing, inaccessible, and difficult for communities to engage with.
Both organisations are calling for the current consultation to be redesigned and reopened later when the 'required analysis' has been done, and as part of the development of the 4th Water Action Plan.
The deputy director of the Rivers Trust, Dr. Constanze O'Toole said: 'The Rivers Trust has come together with SWAN because we share deep concerns about the lack of transparency and accessibility in this consultation process.'
'Environmental decisions must be based on clear data and local knowledge. Labelling rivers as 'heavily modified' has long-term consequences, so people deserve to see the evidence and understand the impact.'
'If we want strong, fair decisions about our rivers, we need open access to the facts, easier-to-understand consultations, and a real say for local communities in what happens to their water,' she added.