Catchment News

Home News National Barrier Mitigation Programme Update

National Barrier Mitigation Programme Update

€13.6 million has been allocated to 103 river barrier projects nationwide, with a second funding scheme set to open soon for further applications.

Meelick Weir on the River Shannon, a long wooden structure crossing the river with flowing water and green vegetation on both banks. Photo credit: E. Quinlan. — Meelick Weir, River Shannon. Photo: E. Quinlan

€13.6 Million Investment to Restore Free-Flowing Rivers Across Ireland

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is leading a major national effort to restore Ireland’s rivers and improve fish migration through its Barrier Mitigation Programme. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has announced €13.6 million in funding for 103 river barrier projects nationwide. These projects will remove or address dams, weirs, and other structures that obstruct fish passage, helping to create healthier aquatic ecosystems.

This investment supports Ireland’s commitments under the Water Framework Directive, the Nature Restoration Law, and the EU goal of restoring 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers by 2030. It’s a vital step toward protecting river habitats and species such as Atlantic salmon, eel, and lamprey.

Barrier Mitigation Fund – Scheme No. 2 Coming Soon

Following the launch of the first Barrier Mitigation Fund earlier this year, IFI will announce a second funding scheme in the coming weeks. This scheme will provide further opportunities to remove or mitigate barriers that obstruct fish passage.

National Barriers Mitigation Programme Dashboard

Inland Fisheries Ireland provides two interactive dashboards to support the Barrier Mitigation Programme. The National Barriers Dashboard offers a comprehensive view of barriers to fish passage across Ireland’s waterways, including an interactive map with details on barrier type, size, and severity. The National Barrier Mitigation Programme Dashboard tracks progress of barrier mitigation projects, showing the number of active barriers, completed works, and project phases, alongside visual summaries of lead agencies and barrier characteristics.

National Barrier Mitigation Programme dashboard showing 139 active barriers, 16 mitigations completed since 2024, and a map of Ireland with project locations. Includes charts for lead agency, barrier type, barrier size, and project status phases. — National Barriers Mitigation Programme Dashboard

Get Involved – Identify Barriers in Your Area

IFI wants to work with you and support funding applications to address these issues.
Do you know barriers in rivers that impact fish passage? Inland Fisheries Ireland invites you to share local knowledge and help identify structures that need removal or mitigation.

Explore barriers in your area and learn how to get involved. Click here

Learn more

The National Barriers Programme; A short guide into the Barriers to Fish Migration in Irish Waterways today. The National Barriers Programme | IFI Open Data Portal

Review all guidance documents and technical criteria on the IFI website: https://www.fisheriesireland.ie/what-we-do/barrier-mitigation

About author

EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.

Local Authority Waters Programme

The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.