Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That is incredibly welcome because it is such an important area. A focus on barriers will free up other things. A third of the catchment in Wicklow is not accessible to any migratory fish because of barriers. I am working with IFI, the East Wicklow Rivers Trust and the council to try to remediate some of the barriers. It is fantastic to see the Department putting more focus on that, which I welcome. A sum of €500,000 is not a lot of money and I hope it will be increased over the coming years as the programme is rolled out. Freeing up those aquatic systems could be one of the most important things the Department and IFI could do. I welcome that move.