Sustainable Water Network (SWAN)
@swanireland
Network of 26 of Ireland’s leading local & national environmental groups, working together to protect Ireland’s rivers, lakes, bays, seas & groundwaters.
Do you want to do your part in protecting Ireland's iconic wild salmon? Have you signed our petition yet? ✊ Sign the petition to call for the phase out of the destructive and cruel practice of open-net fish farming. 📝👇 https://swanireland.ie/take-action/ban-open-net-fish-farms/
Meet Our Members! Today we're introducing Carra Mask Corrib Water Protection Group. Watch the video to learn more about the great work being done including to protect Ireland's longest living animal 👀
"Open net cage farming is just not suitable for Ireland, or any other country for that matter" - John Murphy, Salmon Watch Ireland. This destructive & cruel practice must be phased out. Sign our petition to call for it📝👇 https://swanireland.ie/take-action/ban-open-net-fish-farms/
❗More than 500 fish found dead in Tolka river! 🐟Species found included brown trout, eel, stickleback, lamprey and minnow. Read more here https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2026/0802/1586195-fish-kill-dublin/
Check out SWANs feature in the Irish Independents Climate Changemakers article here https://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/climate-changemakers-the-group-focussed-on-helping-push-for-cleaner-healthier-waterways/a/159012631.html Sign up to our newsletter here https://swanireland.ie/email-news-signup/
Another DEVASTATING fish kill!! 4,500 fish reported found dead over 2km stretch of river flowing through Co. Cavan. ❗These disasters need to stop.
🚨Pearl Mussel Kill on the Owenriff river in Co. Galway! Devastating news shared with us by our member organisation, Carra Mask Corrib Water Protection Group! Much more needs to be done to protect freshwater pearl mussels and the clean, free-flowing rivers on which they depend.
Check out SWANs feature in the Irish Independents Climate Changemakers article here https://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/climate-changemakers-the-group-focussed-on-helping-push-for-cleaner-healthier-waterways/a/159012631.html Sign up to our newsletter here https://swanireland.ie/email-news-signup/
Galway Harbour, the Barrow River, and the Tolka River listed as “potential contamination hotspots” in research commissioned by the EPA. Read the full Independent article here https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/potential-pollution-hotspots-with-hazardous-chemicals-identified/a/158888379.html
SWAN Policy Officer, Emma spoke on Highland Radio about the devastating impacts of open-net fish farming on wild salmon in Ireland. Time is running out to save this iconic species. Sign SWAN's petition to ban open net fish farming. https://swanireland.ie/take-action/ban-open-net-fish-farms/
Our petition to ban the destructive and cruel practice of open-net fish farms in Ireland has got over 1,000 signatures in a day! 🐟🎉 Thanks to all who have signed 👏👏👏 Please share & like so we can get much more ♻️ The link to the petition & more info on it is here 👇 swanireland.ie/take-action/...
@eeb.org's water asks for Irish Presidency of Council of EU 💧Support ambitious Water Resilience Strategy 💧Pushback against weakening of EU main water law & nitrates law & push for implementation instead 💧Adoption of the Council Conclusions ahead of the UN Water Conference eeb.org/wp-content/u...
Listen back to SWAN's Freshwater Policy Officer, Dr Puneeta Sreenivas on @nearfm.ie discussing water pollution, enforcement and fish kills in Ireland. Full interview available here https://listenagain.org/?p=62028
SWAN's own Emma Armshaw featured in UCC's Alumni magazine talking about her role as Marine and Coastal Policy Officer at SWAN and inspiring career change to play her part in saving the seas 🌊 Read the article on page 10 here https://issuu.com/discoverucc/docs/the_bridge_-_2026?fr=sZTNjNTkwOTU2Njg
"What we would say is that the government is failing both water quality and it's failing farmers" We were asked last week at Oireachtas Committee about the need to give farmers credit for work done & not just blame for water pollution. Something we are often asked. Listen to our response here.
“There should be a zero tolerance approach to issues like this moving forward” – Dr Puneeta Sreenivas, SWAN. The issue of wastewater featured heavily at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tuesday. Watch back some of points raised by SWAN and the Irish Environmental Network.
Watch back the opening statement from Katie Smirnova of our sister network the Irish Environmental Network at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs yesterday.
"We would say it is legislation from a bygone era" Watch back our answers to questions on the Arterial Drainage Act yesterday at an Oireachtas Committee meeting. There is a commitment to review the act in the Government's Water Action Plan but nothing has been done on it.
"We need to move away from making plans to write plans to seeing evidence-based actions implemented on the ground. Until we do that our water bodies will continue to disimprove" - Dr Elaine McGoff Watch back Dr Elaine McGoff from SWAN member An Taisce at the Joint Oireachtas Committee yesterday.
SWAN's Dr. Puneeta Sreenivas and Dr. Elaine McGoff after presenting at a Joint Oireachtas Committee today. Plenty of important points were made, and good debates were had. Watch out for videos!
📣LAST CHANCE!! Use your voice for nature and submit to the consultation on Ireland’s Nature Restoration Plan before July 1st. To have your say email your views to nationalrestorationplan@npws.gov.ie or visit our website for more info swanireland.ie/take-action/...
Good to see TDs this week bringing to the Taoiseach some of the issues around bathing water quality & sewage that we have been raising. Our coastal waters, lakes and rivers must be free of this faecal pollution. 💩 Our health & the health of our wildlife that live in our waters are threatened. 🤮
We are urging YOU to make a submission to the public consultation on Ireland's Nature Restoration Plan🫵 Email your views to nationalrestorationplan@npws.gov.ie. before July 1st and see more about our key priorities on our webpage https://swanireland.ie/take-action/nature-restoration-plan/
If your swimming spot was one of the nearly 40 swimming spots that had swim restrictions due to the risk of pollution over the sunny weekend, you may be wondering how Ireland compares to the rest of Europe for bathing water quality. We're very much below average 🙁 Govt needs to do much more.
Looking good for the beach for the weekend 😎🏊♂️ ... or is it 🤔? 39 of our bathing waters have swim restrictions due to the risk of pollution, mainly from sewage & agriculture 🤮💩 www.beaches.ie The government needs to stop this pollution now! 🛑Tell them.
Important point made by Jennifer Whitmore TD, at the Oireachtas Committee SWAN attended this week, on the amount of Uisce Eireann plants failing to meet EPA licensing due to operational issues. These need to be addressed urgently.
The section of the Fisheries Act that allows licences for aquaculture to be kept for years and years, after they have run out, without environmental assessment, needs to be amended much more urgently.
Stop this! Destructive industries want to tear down the EU laws protecting nature, including our seas. The science is clear. The laws work. Keep them. Help us keep their #HandsOffNature Sign our petition: https://swanireland.ie/take-action/hands-off-nature/
Listen back to SWAN's Freshwater Policy Officer, Puneeta Sreenivas, on Athlone Today, discuss the key takeaways from the EPA's latest Water Quality in Ireland report and what people can do to make a difference.
