Mr. John Ruby:

I thank the committee for having us here today on behalf of our club, Mallow Trout Anglers. Our president was contacted by his neighbour who was out walking his dogs by the river on 11 August who explained all the dead fish he spotted in the River Blackwater, below Mallow town bridge. Kevin Healy went down to investigate himself and, shocked at what he witnessed, contacted Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, at 10.20 a.m. IFI was on site on the same day, by Mallow bridge, and found a few dead fish. After receiving a call, I went to see for myself a sight I will never forget. Dead fish were floating down the river, giving the odd kick as they slowly died.

On 12 August, the EPA arrived to take water samples at the licensed sites. The IFI was seen everywhere up and down the river and on 14 August the Marine Institute were on site by Mallow bridge taking samples of trout. These were the State bodies getting the process started. On 12 August, I made contact with our local TD, Eoghan Kenny, to ensure the public water supply was safe. He was very efficient and engaging with me and we are very proud to have him representing us. As it turned out, the drinking water was supplied from the River Clyda so we turned our attention to the river and keeping the public safe.

There were reports of animals getting sick after being in the water. Blackwater Veterinarian Clinic in Mallow posted on social media for animals and humans alike to avoid the River Blackwater. By 13 August, the fish mortalities were still increasing and what we witnessed was very disturbing: dead fish everywhere, with markings, mainly on the head, and bulging eyeballs which exploded as we looked on helplessly. Fish were blind and I was able to collect them live out of the river, as seen on RTÉ news. Catastrophic was an underestimation. Club members walked the river for miles as we had a definite point where fish were dying and this was spreading down river slowly but still devastating. In total, 37 km of our beautiful river were being attacked. We witnessed fish run up streams while in the warmer water in the main river healthy and damaged fish were in very large numbers. Although this gave hope of fish surviving, they were still dying in front of us with no explanation.

After speaking with Sean Long of IFI, we offered our services to help remove dead fish from the river. Sean was arranging the disposal of such fish and explained it was €600 to have them collected so we delivered to the location at our own cost. On 14 August, all three clubs - Lombardstown Trout Anglers, Killavulen and Mallow - arranged to remove fish from the river, with around 4,000 dead fish removed. Safety precautions were observed, with rubber gloves supplied, and I personally disinfected all our members' gear. It was physically clear this was the single largest fish kill in all of Ireland. IFI requested we leave the dead fish in situ and this request was observed. We have stopped anglers fishing for the rest of the season.

After constant media interviews, the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, arrived in Mallow to speak with us and witness the river for himself. After a second meeting with Deputy Dooley, IFI and the EPA, the long wait had begun for results that never materialised. I thank the committee for its time.