Kilkenny Minister welcomes €1.2m for water quality projects nationwide

Today, on World Water Day, the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), working on behalf of Ireland’s 31 local authorities to protect and restore good water quality, is awarding funding to 155 projects in 26 counties under the ‘Community Water Development Fund Open Call 2024’.

Under the fund local communities and groups were invited to apply for financial assistance to support the delivery of projects and initiatives to enhance local water bodies and benefit water quality and biodiversity.

Since 2018, LAWPRO has made over €2.7m available through this funding scheme to local communities and groups, assisting in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive through Ireland’s River Basin Management Plan. 

In addition, LAWPRO is rolling out a new funding stream the ‘Catchment Support Fund’. This funding will build the capacity of Community Groups to grow and develop in support of the delivery of the River Basin Management Plan.

Minister of State with responsibility for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, welcomed these announcements saying:

“Today is World Water Day and I’m delighted to announce €1.2m for 155 projects nationwide to improve water quality. Under the Community Water Development Fund, grants totalling €702,605 will fund the grassroots work of local communities and voluntary groups to raise awareness of our rivers, lakes and streams and the biodiversity they support. A further €500,000 under the new LAWPRO Catchment Support Fund, to be rolled out by LAWPRO, will help NGOs working on water quality to develop and strengthen the skills, processes, and resources they need to grow. Each and every project that these funds support will play a part in achieving our collective goal of improving water quality.”

Funding applications details for the ‘LAWPRO Catchment Support Fund’ will be available from https://lawaters.ie/ from Wednesday the 27^th of March 2024 and the fund closes for applications on Tuesday, 16^th of April 2024.

Commenting on the 2024 fund, Director of Services for LAWPRO, Anthony Coleman said: “We are delighted to fund local community driven projects that will go towards improving water bodies. LAWPRO was set up to coordinate and support efforts to achieve good water quality and these types of projects are at the heart of what we do. Community engagement is fundamental in dealing with local issues and the fund empowers groups to take action to benefit their local water bodies and the surrounding environment. Providing financial support to community groups to develop and grow is an important next step in achieving water quality.”

Full details of grants awarded and the application process for the new Catchment Support Fund are available online at www.lawaters.ie and www.catchments.ie

For more information on the work of LAWPRO visit: www.lawaters.ie