The Shannon Connectivity Project

The Shannon Connectivity Project was set up as part of Irelands River Basin Management Plan 2018-21. A Steering Group was set up in 2018, which led to the Commissioning of a comprehensive Final Report from CDM Smith in 2021 which outlined measures to mitigate the barriers at Ardnacrusha and Parteen on the Lower Shannon.

The Steering Group is made up of a Core group (Dept. of Housing, ESB, IFI and Irish Water/Uisce Eireann), and a Consultative Group (Office of public Works, Waterways Ireland, NPWS, EPA, and the Shannon Fisheries partnership – a collection of angling and other interests on the Upper Shannon).

The Final Report specified a four part project:

• · Renovated Fish Pass options at Parteen Weir with possible fish pass at Ardnacrusha

• · Upstream fish passage improvement options involving fish guidance systems

• · Downstream fish passage improvement options involving fish guidance systems

• · Management plan for the Lower Shannon environment

The report mentioned a number of options for each section which were to be further investigated and decided upon by the Core Group. A Roadmap of Actions was published in October 2022, which specified timelines for :

• New Fish Pass at Parteen Weir End 2025

• Eflow Study Programme 2023-25

• Feasibility Study for Tailrace Barrier End 2025

• Downstream Fish Pass Feasibility Study End 2025

• New Fish Pass at Ardnacrusha Feasibility Study End 2025

• Lower Shannon Management Plan End 2025

• Continuation of Steering Group to Oversee Implementation Ongoing

This Shannon Connectivity Project has been delayed as a result of Covid, but is currently publishing Requests for Tenders (September 2025), and is expected to begin work on bringing forward final detailed recommendations to the core group in the coming year.

It is expected that this project will be finished before Uisce Eireann’s major infrastructural project Water Supply Project, Eastern & Midlands Region, which will apply for planning permission in the coming months.