Habitats & Conservation Funding Call 2024

Since 2016, a value in excess of €6 million has been awarded by Inland Fisheries Ireland to over 280 projects across the country.

Inland Fisheries Ireland has activated the Habitats and Conservation Funding Call for 2024. Grant funding is available to Inland Fisheries Ireland and to eligible third parties throughout the Republic of Ireland to support sustainable fisheries habitats and conservation. The fund is made up from licence and permit contributions.

Habitats & Conservation Fund

The Habitats and Conservation Funding Call 2024 includes the following schemes:

Midlands Fisheries Fund (MFF): €50,000

This scheme focuses on sustainable development works in the midland fisheries permit area. The fund has been created through contributions from the permit income received via the Midlands Fisheries Group permit. Projects which will be eligible to receive support will improve fish habitats in a sustainable manner (e.g. habitat enhancement, control of exotic species etc.). New to the fund this year will be funding for projects that will benefit anglers and promote angling.

Salmon and Sea Trout Rehabilitation, Conservation and Protection Fund (SSTRCPF) €1,000,000

The aim of this fund is to rehabilitate, protect and conserve Salmon and Sea Trout and their habitats. This year, funding will be available for habitat rehabilitation and conservation projects only (e.g. fish passage improvement, spawning enhancement, instream and bank protection, fencing, the removal and control of invasive species, etc.).For more information about the Habitats and Conservation Funding Call 2024, an information booklet is available for download:

Funding call guide 2024

(4.04 MB)

Download me

Please see the video below for details of the funds and some ideas for habitat restoration projects.

As part of a new two-step process, all applicants must firstly complete an ‘Expression of Interest’ application on Inland Fisheries Ireland’s online grant management portal before 5:30pm on Friday, December 15th 2023. After the expression of interest has been completed, full applications must then be submitted to Inland Fisheries Ireland via the online grant management portal by 5:30pm on Friday, January 26th, 2024.

Key Dates

The following timeline will be in place for the duration of the 2024 call:

Completed EOI’s can only transfer to full applications until the 15th of December, No EOI's will be accepted for 2024 funding after this date
Full applications must be developed from the EOI and submitted before 17:30 pm on 26th January 2024
Decisions on applications and grants will be announced in May 2024

If you are interested in applying for IFI funding it is advised to contact your local IFI office to discuss the most appropriate options. Applicants must complete an EOI on IFI’s grants management portal, a process which is open on a continuous basis all year round. The portal can be accessed by following the link below. Once the EOI is successfully completed, applicants can further develop their application on the grants management portal through appropriate engagement with IFI and specific requirements to your proposal. EOI’s are invited from angling clubs, fishery owners, local development associations, local authorities, tidy towns and others who may be looking to carry out relevant projects. A list of projects is provided below as a guideline.

Apply for Habitats & Conservation Funding 2024

Access the online grant management portal and submit an expression of interest or application

Apply here

Types of projects that can be considered trough the EOI process are but not limited to:

Fish passage improvement (e.g. removal of barriers, modification of weirs, and construction of fish passes, etc.).
Spawning enhancement (addition/raking of gravel or cleaning of existing substrates).
Fencing (protection of river banks including fences, stiles, cattle drinkers, etc.).
Riparian zone improvement (selective tree pruning and strategic tree planting).
Removal/control of aquatic invasive species (e.g. Asian Clam, Chub, etc.).
In-stream structures (weirs, deflectors, rubble mats, random boulders, etc.).
River Bank protection (soft engineering measures, log revetments, etc.).
Feasibility studies/development plans which lead to future projects under the above headings. To a maximum of 80% funding or €5,000 whichever is less).
Appropriate Assessment screening/other environmental reports for projects conserving Salmon/Sea trout may be funded to a maximum of €5,000.
Research to evaluate proposed river/habitat rehabilitation efficacy.
Assessment of status, monitoring of outcomes, funds will be available that will aid in the assessment of the status of either the salmon or sea trout stocks in threatened rivers and water bodies.
Provision of match funding to OPW/Local Authorities etc., where the objectives of the project satisfy the objectives of the Salmon and Sea trout scheme and governance, liability is assumed by the lead agency.
Projects that are of benefit to the Midland lakes anglers.
Angling promotion in the Midland lakes.

Guidance on Applying for Funding

If you are interested in becoming involved in a project it is advised to firstly discuss your project with Inland Fisheries Ireland, contact details are available for local offices on contact-us .

Applications are only accepted upon registration on the Web Portal Login where an initial expression of interest (EOI) can be submitted. Once the EOI is fully completed it can be developed into a full application for 2022 funding.

Information Booklets and link to Funding Web Portal

To find out more information about the funding available and obtain a ‘how to’ on the application process, follow the links below to access the relevant documents.

To obtain more information on the types of grants that are available, project requirements, contact information and assessment criteria, click on Funding Call Guide above.

Applications are only accepted via the online portal, so to help better understand the process of registering on the system, creating and submitting applications, click on the following User Guide and Instructions Video:

Application Portal User Guide (1.53 MB)
Video: Registration and Application Assist
Video: Mapping Assist

Finally when you are satisfied with the requirements for your proposed project, click on the Web Portal Login to begin with the Registration and Application process.

Web Portal Login

Organisation	Project Description	County	Award
Inland Fisheries Ireland	For the Grange and Breaghmore rivers including stock drinking troughs & habitat fencing	Offaly	€30,590
East Wicklow Rivers Trust	Rock ramp construction to improve fish passage at Ballinglen Bridge on the Aughrim River	Wicklow	€14,855
Inland Fisheries Ireland	Project on the Doonbeg River for riparian buffer with native planting and habitat fencing on 1.6km of riverbank.	Clare	€16,688
Inland Fisheries Ireland	Baseline survey to collect new research data in 2023 re conserving and protecting wild salmon and sea trout in the Bantry Bay area.	Cork	€140,000
Ennis and District Anglers	Riparian restoration project on the River Fergus, for a riverside buffer with habitat fencing, stock water systems and troughs.	Clare	€26,036
Inland Fisheries Ireland	River restoration project on the Stoneyford River on the Boyne, for spawning enhancement, riparian improvement with habitat fencing, stock water systems and troughs.	Westmeath	€72,911
Inland Fisheries Ireland	River restoration project on the Knightsbrook River on the Boyne, for spawning enhancement, riparian improvement with habitat fencing, stock water systems and troughs.	Meath	€66,319
Inland Fisheries Ireland	River habitat restoration works on the Straide and Garracloon streams on the Moy River for riparian improvement with habitat fencing, native planting, stock water systems and troughs.	Mayo	€55,091
Kells Anglers Association	Appopriate assessment of the proposed river restoration site on the Kells Blackwater Carnaross	Meath	€3,500
River Easkey Angling Club	Feasibility study of the River Easkey Catchment with a focus on process-based rehabilitation measures and recent research on river restoration works in an era of climate change.	Sligo	€5,000
Inland Fisheries Ireland	River restoration project on Newtown river, Castleconor, for spawning enhancement, riparian improvement with habitat fencing, stock water systems and troughs.	Sligo	€29,329
Inland Fisheries Ireland	River restoration project on the Tyshe River, Ardfert in conjunction with Kerry Co. Co. Elements involved include channel and spawning restoration with native planting along the riparian zone.	Kerry	€18,000
Inland Fisheries Ireland	Restoration project on the River Esker that joins the River Barrow in conjunction with Offaly CoCo. Focused on spawning restoration on a degraded channel.	Offaly	€50,000
Inland Fisheries Ireland	To establish the hydromorphological classification of the National Salmon Index Catchment on the Erriff River.	Mayo	€25,188
Inland Fisheries Ireland	River restoration project on the Rye River that joins the River Liffey. Focused on spawning restoration on a degraded channel with a severe decline in Atlantic salmon.	Kildare	€1,314
Inland Fisheries Ireland	Project for a feasibility study of the Black River catchment with a focus on process-based rehabilitation measures and recent research on river restoration works in an era of climate change.	Galway	€5,000
Clane Trout and Salmon Anglers Association	Feasibility study of the River Liffey at Clane on aquatic and terrestrial weed management with possible identification on sources of enrichment.	Kildare	€4,995
Cong and District Anglers	Project to identify appropriate measures to optimise spawning opportunities for salmon and sea trout in the Cong village area, that will not have a detrimental impact on other native fauna.	Mayo	€13,610
Leenane Development Association	Invasive species management project on the Bundorragha and Erriff Rivers. The proposal is focused on control and eradication of rhododendron infestation in riparian/near-riparian zones.	Mayo	€30,000
Inland Fisheries Ireland	Appropriate assessment of the proposed river restoration works on the Bulba River on the Leannan Catchment.	Donegal	€3,500
Inland Fisheries Ireland	Project to undertake eDNA analysis of Irish rivers in 2023 to monitor for the potential presence of invasive Pacific pink salmon.	National	€36,311
Inland Fisheries Ireland	Project for a nature-based river restoration project on the Bealanabreac River that joins the Corrib catchment.	Galway	€73,000
Inland Fisheries Ireland	Salmon Conservation Limit Attainment 2024. Project to undertake national catchment-wide electrofishing analysis of Irish rivers in 2024 to monitor and support the conservation and management of Atlantic salmon.	National	€143,584
Navan and District Angling Association	Project for the river restoration project on the River Skane that flows into the Boyne system in Navan. Proposals including spawning enhancement, riparian improvement with habitat fencing is subject to appropriate assessment.	Meath	€34,451

Habitats and Conservation Funding Awards 2021

We are delighted to announce the recipients of our 2021 funding call to support fisheries conservation and angling development projects. The funding has been granted to 18 projects in 10 counties.

The 2021 projects will receive funding under the following funding schemes:

Midlands Fisheries Fund (€41,278)

This scheme focuses on conservation and rehabilitation projects in the midland fisheries permit area. The fund has been created through contributions from the permit income received via the Midlands Fisheries Group permit area.

Salmon and Sea Trout Rehabilitation, Conservation and Protection Fund (€744,326)

This scheme focuses on the protection of both salmon and sea trout. It is funding rehabilitation, protection and conservation projects, all of which focus on salmon and/or sea trout.

The recipients of the 2021 funding call grants for the SSTCPF and MFF Schemes were:

Fund	Grantee	County/Counties	Project Description	Grant Award
SCF	Inland Fisheries Ireland	Co. Kilkenny	Brett's Weir - Construction Stage for a Rock Ramp Fish Pass	€120,000.00
SCF	Inland Fisheries Ireland	Co. Laois	Remedial work on a section of the River Erkina, Rathdowney, Co. Laois	€24,000.00
SCF	Inland Fisheries Ireland	Co. Mayo	Establishing the sea temperature regime utilised by sea trout in Irish waters	€40,000.00
SCF	Inland Fisheries Ireland	Co. Galway	Dawros River Catchment Management Plan	€30,000.00
SCF	Kilbarry Angling Club	Co. Cork	Kilbarry Salmon Fishery Bank Erosion Protection	€17,500.00
SCF	Kilbarry Angling Club	Co. Cork	Improvement Works (Soft Engineering Willow and repair of Stone Footing) River Blackwater Kilbarry Salmon Fishery	€48,000.00
SCF	Glenville and Kildinan Trout Anglers Association	Co. Cork	Glenville and Kildinan Trout Anglers enhancement and remedial works project	€56,000.00
SCF	Inland Fisheries Ireland	Co. Limerick	Askeaton Weir Complex Fish Passage Development Plan	€105,000.00
SCF	Inland Fisheries Ireland	Co. Wexford	Hire of Consultant Engineer for the Weir Removal at the Still Pond	€30,000.00
SCF	Inland Fisheries Ireland	Co. Carlow	Ballynacarrig River enhancement works phase 1	€100,000.00
SCF	Inland Fisheries Ireland	Co. Galway	Clare River System Development 2020-2021	€82,000.00
SCF	West Limerick Deel Anglers	Co. Limerick	Riddlestown Stream Rehabilitation	€10,000.00
SCF	East Wicklow Rivers Trust	Co. Wicklow	Wicklow Fish barrier removal project	€50,000.00
SCF	Rosses Anglers Association	Co. Donegal	Craghy/Dungloe stream habitat improvements.	€16,826.00
SCF	East Mayo Anglers Association	Co. Mayo	5 Year Development Plan for East Mayo Anglers Association	€15,000.00
MFF	Lough Ennell Trout Preservation Association	Co. Westmeath	Dysart fencing / water quality improvement project	€15,000.00
MFF	Lake O’ Flynn & District Angling Association	Co. Roscommon	Planning for in stream enhancement - Upper River Suck	€11,500.00
MFF	Fore Heritage and Amenity Group	Co. Westmeath	Fencing / water quality protection, Glore River at Fore	€14,777.97

The types of projects that can be considered through the EOI process include: If you are interested in applying for IFI funding it is advised to contact your local IFI office to discuss the most appropriate options. Expressions of Interest (EOI) for IFI funding are invited year round by clicking on the Web Portal Login. Organisations and individuals that are eligible to submit an EOI include all groups, associations, clubs, local authorities, licence holders or other appropriate bodies looking to improve our inland fisheries and sea angling resource and improve access to angling for all.