Waterford have been allocated just 0.04% of the Community Water Quality Improvement fund for 2026.
In what appears to be a generic press release, Minister for Housing, James Browne, and Minister of State for Nature, Christopher O’Sullivan TD, announced “€1,009 in funding for a project aimed at improving water quality in Waterford” out of a total fund of €2.4m.
The funding was awarded through the Community Water Development Fund and the Catchment Support Fund, both administered by the Local Authority Waters Programme on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
This announcement comes weeks after a LAWPRO public meeting held in Waterford, which was intended to inform the public of LAWPRO projects, but became a discussion of the county’s environmental problems and the various public groups which have not delivered on meaningful change or engagement.
Although the facilitators at the LAWPRO public meeting in Waterford were keen to express their goodwill on the night and handled the complaints gracefully, it seems they are just the latest iteration of public representatives that have inherited problems going back decades.
Some lifelong campaigners openly despaired at the environmental status of the county, its waters and wetlands.
This latest announcement of €1,009 in funding of a total €2,445,229, which LAWPRO administers, will do nothing to reassure those who suspect Waterford’s environmental will continue to decline.
In a statement announcing the €1,009 of funding to Waterford, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne, said: “Local action by communities and groups is critical in our efforts to protect our waters. Through the Community Water Development Fund and the Catchment Support Fund, we are providing significant investment in the grassroots work of local communities and voluntary groups who care deeply about water quality in their local areas.
“My Department’s funding supports these groups to deliver meaningful projects that protect and restore local rivers, lakes and streams,” the minister added.
These comments will strike Waterford’s environmental activists as tone-deaf in the context of a fund which gave Waterford just 0.04% of available resources and provided no funding at all to any project that improves water quality.
An insult to Waterford
In a statement to The Munster Express, Martin Doyle, owner of the Several Fishery in Tramore Bay and the Backstrand has expressed his outrage at the grant of just €1,009 to Waterford.
Mr Doyle was in attendance for the LAWPRO community meeting in March and was one of many who voiced their concerns at the environmental situation and the disregard of biodiversity in Waterford’s waterways.
“The state agency LAWPRO is failing in its duty to support the very people who hold legal and historical responsibility for our rivers,” said Mr Doyle.
“To allocate just €1,000 to Waterford when €2.4 million is being spent elsewhere is not just a disappointment, it is an insult to the people of Waterford and a threat to the survival of a fishery that has existed for centuries.”
Mr Doyle claims that such lack of investment threatens the biodiversity and ecological health of areas like Tramore Bay, which he explains is included in his fishery due to a historic claim said to pre-date Magna Carta.
In addition to this comment, the fishery owner, is calling on LAWPRO to explain the disparity between Waterford and other counties, increase their investment to a meaningful level and to implement practices that respect private ownership.
“The people of Waterford and the custodians of its ancient franchises deserve more than a token gesture,” he said.
“It is time for LAWPRO to provide the funding necessary to protect our heritage and our environment,” Mr. Doyle added.
Important heritage project
The recipient of the €1,009 was Tides and Tales, a popular and important heritage project that raises awareness about Waterford’s maritime history but does not do direct environmental interventions.
The four categories the fund was said to address are: river and catchment conservation and restoration, community engagement (such as Tides and Tales), biodiversity enhancement and the preparation of reports.
It is not clear how many applications Waterford had for this body of funding. The disparity between the passionate activists who attended the LAWPRO public meeting, and the funding LAWPRO delivered to the county suggests a breakdown in communication or processes.
Bottom 10% for biodiversity globally
Meanwhile, this issue arises shortly after a substantial report found that 90% of Ireland’s protected habitats were in an unfavourable condition. For a country so connected to it nature, Ireland is now in the bottom 10% globally for biodiversity intactness.
“Unfortunately, with 90% of our protected habitats in an unfavourable conservation status and ranking in the bottom 10% globally for biodiversity intactness, it is fair to say that, in ecological terms, Ireland is not in a good place,” stated the Nature Restoration Report.
The Nature Restoration Report, launched on 29 April, is the culmination of a 15-month body of work conducted by a committee established by the Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan—who also announced the Community Water Quality Improvement fund.
Waterford has the multiple protected habitats. According to Waterford Council, The Lower River Suir, The Blackwater River and Tramore Dunes and Back Strand are all special areas of conservation. Waterford’s environmental community will be wondering what went wrong that areas such as these could not also benefit from this €2.4 million of funding, during what is widely acknowledged as an environmental crisis.
As the Nature Restoration Report states: “Declining biodiversity and ecosystem loss are major threats to the Irish economy, with economic losses predicted due to reduced ecosystem services, diminished crop yields and fish catches, and increased susceptibility to flooding, wildfires, and disease”.
“This decline will not turn around without significant, long-term, ring-fenced investment and commitment from the State.”
AARON KENT
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
