Ms Ciara O'Mahony:

There is an historical practice that has gone back hundreds of years. It is the outlet for a 20 sq. km catchment. Historically, the catchment has been drained by cutting a line through the barrier at least once a year. The wildlife service has been doing that on behalf of the local community since 1982. As acknowledged in our opening statement, I have never come across a community as motivated by the natural heritage value of their area. I say that genuinely. We work with them. We sit on the Lady's Island Lake drainage committee, which gives us the permission to go ahead with that cutting every year. We do it because it is timed to lower the water level to open up nesting areas for terns. It is also effectively a form of flood relief for that local community. It has always been a form of flood relief for that local community.