I move:
"That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
I am pleased to introduce the River Boyne Task Force Bill to the House. The Bill seeks to establish a committee of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly to serve as a River Boyne task force with the function of proposing and promoting policies and priorities for the protection and enhancement of the environment of the River Boyne and of its natural habitats and wildlife. While they are not in a position to be here I acknowledge the support of colleagues like Deputies Joanna Byrne and Ó Murchú who unfortunately cannot be here. Other local colleagues have expressed an interest in speaking on the Bill but may not be able to make it this evening for a variety of reasons, but that does not mean they are not committed to the principles of this particular Bill. I say that on the basis that this is the kind of initiative that should generate cross-party collaboration and support. We are all interested in the future of our river catchment areas and in improving the management and development of our environment.
Rising in County Kildare, the River Boyne flows through the counties of Offaly, Meath and my home county of Louth. It is arguably the most historically significant river in the country as it winds its way through the landscape of Irish history and prehistory back as far as the first settlers in Ireland. The River Boyne is under serious pressure, not least in recent times when there were plans by a meat processing firm to discharge treated waste into a river where water quality is already threatened and biodiversity is at risk. That plan was thwarted by moves made by a public campaign and an appeal to An Bord Pleanála.
The Bill, to give it its context, was inspired by my colleague and former County Meath councillor, Elaine McGinty, who is with us in the Gallery, along with representatives from local environmental groups who have dedicated themselves to the protection of the river. The Bill also has the support of my colleague, the mayor of Drogheda Councillor Michelle Hall and my colleague, Councillor Pio Smith. The Bill also takes its inspiration from my late friend and Louth Labour Party colleague James Lambe, a young man who passed away a short number of years ago. He was somebody who cared deeply about his community and about the river that all of us in Drogheda and in Louth and Meath cherish. This is part of his legacy. It was also inspired by the good work of groups like Save The Boyne and the Boyne Rivers Trust and representatives of those are with us as well. Much of the information I will put on the record in this debate and the data I will rely on comes from their valuable work on the ground and the research they have undertaken in recent years.
As I have said, the Bill seeks to establish a committee of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly to serve as a River Boyne task force with the function of proposing and promoting policies and priorities for the protection and enhancement of the environment of the River Boyne and of its natural habitats and wildlife. Should the Bill be enacted, the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly will establish a special committee to be known as the River Boyne task force. The task force will be made up members from each of the four councils in Kildare, Louth, Meath and Offaly and appointed members who have an interest or expertise in the protection and sustainable development of the river. The functions of the task force will be to propose and promote policies and priorities for the protection and enhancement of the environment of the Boyne catchment and of its wildlife and natural habitats. It will co-ordinate, promote and support strategic planning and sustainable development around the Boyne catchment and make recommendations to regulate and control pollution in and around the catchment. It will also set out a vision for the Boyne catchment as a public amenity for current and future generations and ensure the river’s environmental sustainability, conserving its habitats and wildlife and monitoring the impact of climate change on the river. It will seek to identify the areas in and around the Boyne catchment where detailed proposals and plans for renewal, preservation, conservation, restoration and development or redevelopment would be appropriate and include proposals relating to public access and public amenities including public transport and pedestrian access to the Boyne catchment and its environs.
Our river belongs to all of us. For the purpose of this Bill the Boyne catchment is defined as:
the River Boyne from its source at Trinity Well in the townland of Demesne and County of Kildare to an imaginary line drawn from The Haven in the townland of Baltray and County of Louth to Mornington Point in the townland of Mornington and County of Meath ...
It also includes all tributary rivers and streams and connected lakes and ponds and includes the two canals, namely, the Lower and Upper Boyne Navigations. Additional tasks the task force would take on include to arrange training, research or testing activities in relation to any of its functions, to promote public interest in, respect for, access to and enjoyment of the Boyne catchment and to co-ordinate the activities of public bodies and other organisations and persons in connection with the protection and enhancement of the environment of the Boyne catchment. In performing its functions the task force must act in a manner that achieves and promotes compliance with the requirements of both the habitats directive and the birds directive. The Bill envisages the task force would consult persons and organisations who are, or are representatives of, users of the Boyne catchment or the occupiers of lands in its neighbourhood. It must establish and maintain appropriate links with persons and organisations concerned with the management of the Boyne or any part of it with the aim of improved co-ordination in the formulation and execution of policies. These are the technical elements of the main provisions of this Bill and what it seeks to achieve.
This Bill can be something of a template or framework for the better management of all our precious river systems across the country. We know our water systems are under serious pressure and serious threat. One of the main problems we have with the management of our precious river systems is the severe lack of co-ordination on their management and protection. When a variety of bodies are responsible, nobody is responsible and therein lies the risk. The River Boyne is of enormous historical and cultural importance. It passes through the ancient towns and landscapes of Trim, Trim Castle, the Hill of Tara, Navan, the Hill of Slane and the medieval town of Drogheda, which is my hometown. The Boyne is also home to one of the world’s most important prehistoric landscapes, namely, the UNESCO world heritage site megalithic monuments of Brú na Bóinne. The importance of the Boyne Valley and its many sites that have yet to be studied archaeologically is writ large in the commitment made, after many years of campaigning by me and others, for the State to buy Dowth Hall and the demesne around it. That was something I campaigned on for many years and that was a really important commitment by the previous Government. It was a recognition of the importance of that area and the need to protect the environment and have it be enjoyed by future generations. One of the key reasons the State acquired that estate was the rather unique biodiversity that was evident at those sites. The sites on the estate have been hardly touched by modern agricultural methods. It is quite a perfect site and something to be seen and enjoyed. We look forward to learning more over the next period about the Department’s plans for that site. The course of the river charts not only a line on a map but a course through the history of this island.
Apart from its important cultural heritage, it is also internationally recognised for its environmental value. The importance of the river is recognised at a European level by its designation as a special area of conservation under the habitats directive and as an SPA under the birds directive. The catchment supports five strictly protected species and habitats, including otters, Atlantic salmon, river lamprey, alluvial woodlands and alkaline fens. Despite these layers of protections that have been transposed into Irish law, the Boyne has been, quite frankly, under attack, and while local environmental groups have done some wonderful work in protecting the river and raising awareness of the threats to it, this work needs to be taken more seriously by putting more considered statutory frameworks in place for the protection of our ancient river. We need a different and improved approach. We need better collaboration and co-ordination and for all that to be placed on a statutory footing. The river has the capacity to deal with a certain amount of human-generated pollutants but it is clear it is reaching its limits in that regard and has indeed exceeded them. The river has been cleaning up our mess for far too long. Under the water framework directive Ireland has agreed to ensure all its waters will be of high or good ecological status by 2027 but that is going to be practically impossible. As things stand Ireland is falling well short of this target.
The Boyne catchment is no exception with many water bodies failing to achieve an adequate ecological status in recent years and I am putting that diplomatically. Things are getting worse, not better. The river is under attack from a variety of sources, including domestic wastewater, peat, urban wastewater, urban run-off industry, mines and quarries, to name a few. The elephant in the room is the objective fact that certain agricultural processes are endangering the health of our river too. I am extremely concerned about the decision by the State to seek and secure another exemption to the nitrates directive. I will return to that in my response to the Minister's comments on the Bill later.
Some welcome steps are being taken. Teagasc, for example, has developed an action plan for better farming for water in the Boyne catchment area, which it is hoped will make farmers better neighbours of our water courses and better custodians of the environment. I hope that plan will deliver positive results but quite frankly I am sceptical and history shows why I should be.
A major flashpoint in threats to the river came in 2021, when Dawn Meats sought planning permission from Meath County Council to construct a 7.2 km pipeline from its Slane beef abattoir to discharge treated wastewater into the River Boyne. The depth of feeling among locals living along the river became evident when hundreds of objections were submitted in opposition to the plans, a campaign which my colleague in Meath East, Deputy O'Rourke, who is with us this evening and will contribute on the Bill, was active in supporting. Despite those objections, in April 2022 Meath County Council granted permission for the proposal but the decision was immediately appealed to An Bord Pleanála by several parties. An Bord Pleanála saw sense. It saw the wisdom in the case made against the proposal by the Save the Boyne group and others and the appeal was won. When that welcome decision was made, the Save the Boyne group made a statement I wholly endorse, which the Bill seeks to underpin. The group said the Boyne had significant meaning to all the people who share its shores and waterways, from canoes to anglers, photographers and those simply strolling along its banks. In other words, the river belongs to all of us. The group said the river has a shared history and meaning for all those who recognise its enormous value.
The latest water quality report from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, measured water quality over a five-year period from 2019 to 2024 and was published in 2025. When measured against the previous five-year report for 2016 to 2021, this report showed the risk the River Boyne network is under. Between 2019 and 2024, 52% of our river water bodies were in unsatisfactory ecological status. This reflects a 2% decline in 79 water bodies since the 2016 to 2021 report.
The river supports a population of approximately 200,000 people. It drains an area of almost 2,700 sq km, with Drogheda as its greatest urban centre. I hope in the course of this and my later contribution, we will have shown the river's importance and the threats it faces now and in the future. I am firmly of the belief that the river's ongoing preservation, management and protection needs to be put on a firmer footing. We need to take a keener legislative interest in how we do that. The establishment of a task force on a statutory basis with the protection of the river as its focus will be a vital tool in defending the river and protecting this vital amenity for future generations. I will not overstate the importance of this intervention or innovation but it can make a contribution. This is why I am proposing this Bill and I urge everyone in the House to support its passage. I commend the Bill to the House.
