Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It seems that the scheme has not advanced a great deal in the past one or two years. The freshwater pearl mussel has always been in the river and we have lived together for a long time. It is important that the mussel be protected, but the proposed defences are not in the river but up river banks, set back some distance and with walls. They should have minimum impact and the freshwater pearl mussels could be protected without further delaying the construction of the defences.

It also frustrates locals when they see that a wind farm can be fast-tracked through the key infrastructure planning process only 100 m from the same riverbank and build embankments and bridges onto the riverbank, without the difficulties posed by the freshwater pearl mussel, while locals are held back. We need to get defences in place to give residents in Baile Bhuirne peace of mind that flood waters will not be coming in around their ankles at night and that they will not constantly have to rebuild their lives after floods.

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