COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF LUCAN / PALMERSTOWN / NORTH CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

MOTION NO.15

MOTION: Councillor C. Brady

Cathaoirleach's Business 

That this Committee calls on the Chief Executive to provide a detailed update on the River Liffey Fish Migration Barriers Project, including what actions are proposed to address the significant build-up of silt behind the weir in Lucan, the likely environmental impact on fish migration and river ecology, and the anticipated timeline for any inspection, dredging, remediation, or fish passage improvement works arising from the project.

REPORT:

This is a joint project between South Dublin County Council, Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council. Fingal County Council are taking the lead in the project, while both SDCC and DCC are still heavily involved. The project is very much at an investigation and scoping phase of works, so no works have been planned or programmed to date (surveys and investigation works have been planned). The project has run a procurement process for a Consultancy to carry out studies and investigations on the Liffey Barriers, from Island Bridge to Lucan west, in order to identify pressures on fish and aquatic life migration in the River Liffey. Following this procurement process, MKO Consultants have been appointed to carry out studies, including land ownership, biodiversity studies, studies on existing barriers (identifying and looking at options to mitigate or remove barriers) and topographical surveys, including riverbeds and silt levels. These surveys will be taking place over the coming months. The project is also developing a plan for public and stakeholder consultation. Stakeholder consultation will begin this year and run throughout the project. Public consultation will run early next year. The consultation also envisages presentations to elected representatives. A statutory consultation will also be carried out in conjunction with the planning process. The project is developing a website, this will go live shortly, which will inform interested parties.