Mr. Tommy Lawton:

Since the Minister of State came down to us everything has deteriorated further. The weir deteriorates every day, as we speak. Stones, rocks and other materials are disappearing off the weir because of the force of the water being funnelled down a narrow channel. In terms of the fish passes, the neglect of the weir and the passes over the past 40 years is the major cause of the problems we now face in terms of fish trying to get up through the fish passes. The passes are in such a state of disrepair that they are not viable for any fish migration anymore.