Public Consultation on the draft Water Quality and Water Services Infrastructure Sectoral Adaptation Plan, 2025

The aim of this consultation is to gather feedback from relevant stakeholders and members of the public on the draft Water Quality and Water Services Infrastructure Sectoral Adaptation Plan, 2025.

It is essential that we thoroughly assess the key risks and vulnerabilities of our water sector and aquatic environment to climate change, and the views of the public are an essential element in ensuring the delivery of a robust and thorough finalised Plan.

All interested parties are invited to contribute their views in relation to the Draft Plan during this 6-week consultation process.

The consultation will close on 06 August 2025.

Climate change is one of the most important and pervasive global threats we face in the 21st century. It is widely recognised as posing significant, increasing risks, with exponentially rising costs to the environment, to society, and to the global economy.

The observed rate and scale of change in Ireland’s climate is consistent with climatic trends observed at regional and global scales. Temperatures are increasing, sea levels are rising and patterns of precipitation are changing. Climate change projections indicate that these changes are projected to continue and intensify into the future.

Climate change poses substantial risks for the Water Quality (WQ) and Water Services Infrastructure (WSI) sectors as a result of both gradual changes in average climate conditions, such as increases in average temperature, and as from climate changes, such as changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

This Draft Water Quality and Water Services Infrastructure Sectoral Adaptation Plan:

• Summarises and prioritises the risks posed by climate change for the WQ and WSI sectors;
• Presents the priority impact assessment for both the WQ and WSI sectors;
• Outlines the Goals, Objectives and Actions for the Water sector.

The Sectoral Adaptation Plan’s development is guided by the Government’s National Adaptation Framework, which sets the objective of transitioning to a climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable economy by 2050.

If you have any submissions, observations or comments, these can be sent directly to us at wauconsultation@housing.gov.ie

Written submissions can be sent to:

Water Advisory Unit,

WQ and WSI SAP Consultation

Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage, Custom House,

D01 W6X0

Interested parties are invited to make written submissions or comments no later than 5.00pm, 06 August 2025.

Please note: that all submissions received may be made available on the Government’s website. See the consultation’s terms and conditions under the ‘Documents’ section for further information.

• Water Quality and Water Services Infrastructure Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan – Consultation Document
• Water Quality and Water Services Infrastructure Goals Objectives and Actions
• Water Quality and Water Services Infrastructure: Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan Privacy Statement
• Appropriate Assessment Screening Document
• Strategic Environmental Assessment

All submissions and comments submitted to the Department for this purpose are subject to release under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2014 and the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007-2014. Submissions are also subject to Data Protection legislation.

Personal, confidential or commercially sensitive information should not be included in your submission (other than your name or contact details). It will be presumed that all information contained in your submission is releasable under the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

Please note:

Submissions and observations received will be made available on the Department’s website, unless otherwise requested. In any event, all submissions received will be subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, Access to Information on the Environment Regulations and Data Protection legislation. See also the terms and conditions under the Documents links above.