Wexford County Council has been awarded €700,000 to co-ordinate the range of bodies which aims to reduce nutrient run-off and to restore the ecological condition of the Lady's Island lake.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne TD and Minister of State for nature, heritage and biodiversity Christopher O’Sullivan TD visited the lake on Friday and announced €700,000 in funding to Wexford County Council for their co-ordinating role in restoring the ecological condition of the lake.

They met with officials from Wexford County Council, LAWPRO, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Teagasc, representatives from Farming for Water EIP and the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP), who are advancing plans to address the deterioration of the saline lagoon’s water quality and ecology.

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The tranche of €700,000 in funding to Wexford County Council will support the development of a water quality management plan for Lady’s Island.

It will also help to project-manage their continued co-ordination of the holistic approach required to improve Lady’s Island, with measures required to address excess nutrients from agriculture, domestic waste water treatment plants (septic tanks) and urban waste water treatment plant(s) entering the lake.

This is expected to require very close engagement between the various authorities and bodies.

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Minister of State O’Sullivan said the group has quickly come together to identify the specific response required for Lady’s Island, using the principle of implementing the right measure in the right place.

“The combined strengths of the agencies involved and collaborative initiatives such as the Farming for Water EIP is vital for effective, holistic action for Lady’s Island lake.

"It may take some time to see the results of those inputs and effort, but the commitment of the stakeholders involved and the local community here is clear to see and I look forward to being kept appraised of progress,” he said.