Ms Sinéad O'Brien:

That is a really good point and the Deputy hit the nail on the head. He captured how many different issues exist. In an urban river such as the one going through the Glen, there are many potential impacts on it. It is not a simple answer and what is needed is an integrated approach. There needs to be somebody, such as a catchment manager, who will monitor the multiple impacts on the river and come up with a plan, as well as involve the local community. That is why we recommend there needs to be 46 community water officers. If somebody is going for a walk near the Glen and sees green slime or smells foul odours, he or she will be able to get in touch with the community water officer, who, in the model we envisage, will be in charge of working out whom to get in touch with, whether that is the environment section in Cork City Council or, if somebody is using a digger where he or she should not be, the community water officer might decide the person should get in touch with the EPA.

They form that key liaison point, which we do not have at the moment. We have been arguing for many years that there needs to be such a liaison point. I will leave it at that and let Dr. Crow pick it up from there.