Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On the weekend of 8 and 9 June last, a major incident occurred on the Allow river, which is a tributary of the Munster Blackwater, in which over 5,000 fish were killed. That included species such as salmon, trout and lamprey.

The reason I raise this here today is because I am concerned, in the first instance, about that fish kill and that we do not have as of yet the full facts established as to how that happened.

I read about this incident on the RTÉ News website. It was Joe Mag Raollaigh who was reporting on it. Mr. Mag Raollaigh stated in that report that, "The investigation is being conducted by Inland Fisheries Ireland ..., the State agency responsible for the protection and conservation of freshwater fish and habitats."

That immediately prompted me to seek a briefing from Uisce Éireann, which operates the Freemount wastewater treatment plant. When I sought the briefing, I received correspondence from it basically stating that "A representative from Uisce Éireann is not available to brief the Deputy directly as our investigations are continuing and we will provide further updates in due course." I am given to understand that they provided a further update to an Oireachtas committee yesterday. However, I find that response to be unsatisfactory.

The IFI, to be fair, when I sought a briefing from it, was far more forthcoming in the facts that it sent to me. In a briefing that I received from the river basin district director, he states:

[A] Senior Fisheries Environmental Officer went directly to the location and began an inspection of the river Allow immediately upstream and downstream of the plant. The river was littered with dead fish - trout, salmon fry, lamprey, eels; there were no insects, caddis flies, water bettles, nymphs or any indicators of life up to 4 kms downstream. A follow up inspection 10th June identified that up to 8 kms of the river was affected. IFI estimate that at least 5,000 fish of various species were killed.

Irish Water have confirmed that an accidental discharge of Aluminum Chloride occurred on Sat night/ Sun morning. ... [Irish Water or Uisce Éireann] conducted operations to remove the contaminated soil and drain at the plant yesterday.

This is a serious incident because fish kills arising from entities that are operated by statutory bodies in this day and age are entirely unforgivable and entirely avoidable. I feel sorry for the people of that region who have invested so much in the upkeep of that river as a major tributary of the River Blackwater.

I have questions for the Minister. I wish to know whether the EPA, as the environmental regulator of Uisce Éireann, has the power to prosecute if it finds that there is fault at play here because if it is the case that Uisce Éireann was not fulfilling its statutory obligations in relation to the safety of the river, it needs to be put through the rigours on this one. Given the seriousness of the event, has the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, communicated with the statutory authorities in relation to this matter?

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