Sustainable Water Network (SWAN)

Politician(s) lobbied: Timmy Dooley (Minister of State), Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Intent: Update on MPA legislation encouraging urgency to get published.

Methods: Informal communication

Politician(s) lobbied: Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (MEP), European Parliament; Michael McNamara (MEP), European Parliament; Kathleen Funchion (MEP), European Parliament; Luke Ming Flanagan (MEP), European Parliament; Nina Carberry (MEP), European Parliament; Barry Andrews (MEP), European Parliament; Lynn Boylan (MEP), European Parliament

Intent: To make environmental amendments in PECH Committee::To raise Irish MPA legislation with colleagues::To support conservation through Ocean Act

Methods: Meeting

Politician(s) lobbied: Jennifer Whitmore (TD), Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas; Conor D McGuinness (TD), Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas

Intent: SWAN to get to present at an Aquaculture session the Joint Oireachtas Committee for the Marine

Methods: Email

Politician(s) lobbied: Christopher O’Sullivan (Minister of State), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; Hannah Hamilton (Special Adviser), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Intent: Meeting request to discuss progress on the RBMP

Methods: Letter

Politician(s) lobbied: James Browne (Minister), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Intent: Meeting request to discuss progress on the RBMP

Methods: Email

Politician(s) lobbied: Timmy Dooley (Minister of State), Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Intent: Briefing the minister on impacts of aquaculture

Methods: Email

Politician(s) lobbied: Padráig Mac Lochlainn (TD), Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas

Intent: SWAN sought to influence the TD to champion ecosystem-based reforms in inland fisheries policy, aligning it with WFD obligations for good ecological status, biodiversity protection, and pressures like nutrient pollution and sedimentation.::The goal was securing Sinn Féin's support for legislative updates that prioritise habitat restoration over sectoral isolation, positioning Ireland as a leader in sustainable freshwater management. This would drive policy commitments to catchment-specific nutrient caps, barrier removal, and climate-resilient practices amid ongoing water quality failures.::Formal integration of fisheries management with WFD, Habitats Directive, and river basin plans to address diffuse pollution, sedimentation, and hydromorphological alterations.::Catchment-level nutrient thresholds tailored to sensitive ecosystems (e.g., salmonid rivers), mandatory riparian buffers, and accelerated barrier removal programs.::Prohibitions on high-impact aquaculture in freshwater, reform

Methods: Submission

Politician(s) lobbied: Darragh O'Brien (Minister), Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment; Christopher O’Sullivan (Minister of State), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Intent: We aimed to secure Ireland's vocal opposition to any weakening of the WFD's ambition, binding objectives, and corrective measures for failing water bodies. ::We sought to position Ireland as a leader among like-minded Member States to block dilution amid ongoing challenges like nutrient pollution, chemicals, and hydromorphological pressures. Success would reinforce the WFD's role in restoring aquatic ecosystems, supporting biodiversity, public health, farming, and climate resilience, especially given Ireland's poor water status.

Methods: Letter

Politician(s) lobbied: Helen McEntee (Minister), Department of Foreign Affairs; Thomas Byrne (Minister of State), Department of Foreign Affairs

Intent: Urged Ministers to reject omnibus packages that weaken targets, timelines, or enforcement in areas like PFAS pollution and ecosystem protections. Pushed for evidence-based simplification focused on better national implementation rather than rollbacks.

Methods: Letter

Politician(s) lobbied: Peter Burke (Minister), Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Alan Dillon (Minister of State), Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment; Niamh Smyth (Minister of State), Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Intent: “Competitiveness” should reflect the EU’s shift toward a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive economy that balances industrial strength with environmental responsibility, innovation, and social well-being::The scope of the ECF should be widened to also include nature-based solutions::That the ECF is a genuinely clean and transformative fund, mainstreaming actions to tackle the climate, pollution, health, social, and biodiversity crises, while addressing regional inequalities and supporting a just transition.::To maintain LIFE as a standalone programme with a separate and dedicated budget line. It should also remain under direct management by the European Commission and guided by multiannual work programmes::The LIFE programme should be put under Heading 2 of the next MFF which includes other directly managed programmes such as Horizon Europe and Erasmus +::To ensure that at least 50% of the overall next EU budget is dedicated to genuine climate and environmental and just transition in

Methods: Letter