€87,600 In Grants Awarded to Support Community Groups In Wicklow Involved In Water Quality Management

The Local Authority Waters Programme is awarding €41,600 to the East Wicklow Rivers Trust CLG and €46,000 to the Wicklow Uplands Council.

Overall, €856,260 in funding to 40 community groups in 19 counties under the ‘Catchment Support Fund Open Call 2025’.

The Catchment Support Fund launched last year as a direct response to the Resilience Pilot Project Evaluation and an external review of LAWPRO’s other fund - the Community Water Development Fund.

Both reviews indicated that funding was necessary to build capacity in local groups to support Ireland’s third River Basin Management Plan, the Water Action Plan 2024.

Over €500,000 was awarded to 37 organisations in 2024.  

The 2025 allocation will help build the capacity of non-governmental organisations focussed on water quality by providing funding to enable them to achieve their goals.

The funding will support a diverse range of projects nationwide including:

• River and catchment conservation: initiatives to restore and protect local rivers and their ecosystems.
• Community engagement: programs that promote water stewardship and raise awareness about water quality issues.
• Biodiversity enhancement: projects that support habitats and species dependent on clean water.

This funding is an important part of Ireland’s Water Action Plan, the roadmap to restore Ireland's waterbodies to 'good' status or better, and to protect against further deterioration between 2023 and 2027. It aims to do this through an “integrated catchment management approach”, which means understanding the area, water uses, potential threats and bringing together science and communities.