Waterways Ireland Climate Action Plan

The Waterways Ireland Climate Action Plan is not required by legislative, regulatory or administrative provision and consequently is a non-statutory plan, therefore SEA can be screened out. However, given the remit of Waterways Ireland and the waterways, aspects of the assets we manage, our contribution to the areas in which we are located, and the intention of the Climate Action Plan to influence the way that Waterways Ireland undertake those management duties, further assessment of the requirement for SEA has been undertaken by Cunnane Stratton Reynolds Ltd. Whilst the Climate Action Plan will promote and support climate action to decrease emissions and increase efficiencies in organisational operations and practices it does not set down the location, size or operating conditions of physical development or activities.  View the Screening Report.

The requirement to carry out an Appropriate Assessment (AA) comes from Article 6 (3) of the Habitats Directive. The process aims to determine whether a plan or project, alone or together with other plans and projects, is likely to have significant effects on a European site(s).  The Waterways Ireland network of navigations are adjacent to, or designated as part of, or are hydrologically connected to the Natura 2000 network and therefore the potential of the Climate Action Plan, either alone or in combination with other plans or projects, may give rise to effects on European sites that must be assessed.  The Key Results of the Climate Action Plan are absent of exact geographical location(s), scale and extent of a physical development or activity, and therefore they do not give rise to physical impact that can be reasonably assessed to have significant effect on the qualifying interests of European sites as part of Natura 2000 network.  Having regard to the foregoing, it was concluded by Cunnane Stratton Reynolds Ltd. after preparing an AA Screening Report that there is no requirement to progress to Appropriate Assessment (AA) as the Climate Action Plan either alone, or in combination with other plans, is unlikely to have significant effects on the qualifying interests of European sites part of Natura 2000. View the Screening Report.