Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In general there is shallow topsoil and then we come to daub, which is almost like the plasticine we had in school long ago. In some places, one can go through 8 or 10 ft of daub before coming to a gravelly subsoil. In other places, there is less of it. It creates a very difficult environment in which to work. This has an impact not just for one-off housing but a range of issues. E. coli was mentioned. The point has often been made to me by people in the planning department that they look at a two acre site and find there is nowhere on it to build a house but then the person will drive past it two months later and see that a farmer has spread several tanks of slurry on the same piece of land, which obviously has impermeable soil. The question arises as to what is going on. I imagine this issue will have an impact on E. coli and the agricultural sector. We have a vast amount of forestry in Leitrim and there is the run-off from all of this. What are the three main causes of pollution? I imagine one-off rural housing is not in the top three in Leitrim.