The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), a network of 25 Irish environmental organisations, sees the EU Nitrates Committee decision today, to give Ireland another three-year extension of its Nitrates Derogation, as going against what the science is saying, the law is meant to protect, and what is in the best interest of the general public and … Read more
The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), a network of 25 environmental organisations, has welcomed yesterday’s European Court of Justice ruling [1] that Ireland is in breach of its obligations under the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), the centrepiece of EU water protection law. This is a strong and wide-ranging ruling, identifying serious non-compliances with a whole … Read more
The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), a coalition of twenty-five of Ireland’s leading environmental organisations working on water, has responded to today’s EPA Water Quality report [1] with deep concern, calling on the Government to implement stronger, more urgent measures to restore Ireland’s waterways. The latest EPA report reveals that nearly half (48%) of Ireland’s surface … Read more
The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), representing 25 of Ireland’s leading environmental NGOs, has warned that the recent EPA Urban Wastewater Treatment Report [1] demonstrates that pressing failures persist due to inadequate management and slow infrastructural delivery, posing serious risks to water quality, public health, and biodiversity. More urgent action is needed by Uisce Eireann and … Read more
Almost one month ago today, one of Ireland’s worst ecological disasters unfolded on the River Blackwater in Cork – an estimated 50,000 fish—salmon, trout, eels, lamprey—were reported dead in a stretch of the River Blackwater in Cork. At the time of writing, the cause is believed to be a chemical agent entering the river, but … Read more
Do you work (paid or voluntary) protecting or restoring freshwaters on the island of Ireland? If so, we would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete the below survey. The survey is a joint project between Sustainable Water Network Ireland and the NI Freshwater Taskforce, a working group of NI Environment Link. … Read more
On the 30th of April, Patagonia will be showing a remarkable film about a campaign in Iceland to ban open-net fish farms in its shop in Dublin. SWAN has been invited to talk on salmon fish-farming in Ireland at the event. SWAN will be discussing how the environmental effects of salmon farming as seen in … Read more
At Thursday’s IFA Aquaculture Conference, Minister Timmy Dooley reiterated the government’s commitment to continuing to support the development of the aquaculture sector and streamlining aquaculture licencing. At a time when the government is promoting growth of the Irish aquaculture industry, SWAN believes it is more vital than ever to prioritise the restoration of nature and … Read more
Water pollution is the environmental hazard the Irish public is most worried about [1]. This is not surprising. We already know from the EPA that almost half of our waters are unhealthy and pollution is increasing in many parts of the country. The same week the draft Programme for Government was published a study of … Read more
In July, the Department for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) launched the “Public consultation on Ireland’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive Marine Strategy Part 1: Assessment (Article 8), Determination of Good Environmental Status (Article 9) and Environmental Targets (Article 10),” to which SWAN submitted a response in September. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is … Read more