Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor Whelan for his opening statement. I ask members to indicate if they want to come in to ask questions. I will lead off with a few of my own. I found the opening statements incredibly educational and I am certainly a lay person when it comes to this issue. They were so thorough, informative, and truly enlightening. I say that as somebody who has vast experience of boating on the Shannon River in Limerick city and upriver and I would be very familiar with the Mulcair River and the Ardnacrusha power station, which is huge barrier on our biggest river. The message coming through is that we have seen a catastrophic decline and we are in a very perilous situation, but there are also very clear actions that can be taken. Therefore, there is hope. I would like to think that this committee and the work it does will highlight what is realistic and what can be done with the right policies, the right investment and the targeted approach.

It is my hope that we are at a turning point and that in the next few years, we will see a positive change. The reference to the river in the United States was quite interesting; there was a 45-fold increase in the population of alewives. I think that only two were found in 2013, but ten years later, the numbers have gone up to 590,000, which is more than a 45-fold increase. It is staggering how when actions are taken recovery happens, and that is what I am hearing from the representatives.

I would like to speak about Ardnacrusha, which I know well. It is a major barrier on our biggest river. When I was young, I remember meeting very elderly people who remembered when the River Shannon was teeming with salmon. They would look down from the bridges in Limerick city and all they could see were the backs of the salmon flowing up the river. At the same time, when I was rowing on the river in the 1990s and 2000s, that was a rare enough sight. It is an even rarer sight now to see these fish. One of the reasons we are having this session today is we are conscious that the ESB is producing a policy that is relevant to this discussion, and we would like to influence that policy. As a committee, we have jurisdiction over the ESB, just as we do over Inland Fisheries Ireland. In these sessions, I would for us to come up with recommendations and a report. I think members will be co-operative in producing a report quickly with a view to influencing that ESB policy. I would like to hear from the stakeholders about what they would like to see in that policy. It is not just a matter of the River Shannon, of course, but of the River Lee, the River Liffey and the many rivers across the country that have significant hydroelectric dams.

In Limerick, we are generally very proud of the ESB and Ardnacrusha and what they did. It was a huge project that helped to build the nation. However, we have to acknowledge that it fundamentally altered how the river works, as well as the fish population, the biodiversity of it, and the complex systems that were existing in it.

I would like to hear from our witnesses. What do they think should be in the ESB policy? What is critical there? I do not think any reference was made to the Office of Public Works, OPW, in any of the statements, but it has a very critical role as well. Perhaps our guests could therefore speak about the role of the OPW, as well as what we should be saying to that particular State agency with respect to the challenge we face. Dr. Gallagher may want to go first.