Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this important issue and allowing me to update the House on matters relating to it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

As the Deputy will be aware, a serious pollution incident, resulting in a significant fish kill, occurred on 8 and 9 June on the Allow river, a tributary of the Munster Blackwater river. On Sunday, 9 June, Uisce Éireann was made aware of an incident at one of its wastewater plants, Freemount water treatment plant, in north Cork, with the result of chemicals entering nearby waters. Once the incident was identified, mitigating actions were taken immediately at the wastewater plant.

Inland Fisheries Ireland responded quickly to the incident, having been alerted to a spillage on the river and moved to an investigation phase, including carrying out water sampling in relation to the incident, which continues to be investigated. The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Parks and Wildlife Service were also notified. IFI is awaiting the report of the independent accredited laboratory in relation to the surface water samples taken at the time of the incident. It is important to note that Uisce Éireann has also assured the community there has been no impact on the quality of drinking water. Any spillage occurred downstream of the intake point for the plant and, therefore, would not impact on quality of water entering supply.

Given the numbers of vulnerable fish species in the affected waters, the pollution incident is an ecological disaster for fish in this river, at a time of significant biodiversity loss. Having said that, I can assure the Deputy that IFI, as the statutory body tasked with the protection, management and conservation of the inland fisheries resource, is extremely proactive in its efforts to prevent pollution incidents and will continue to exercise vigilance when dealing with pollution incidences and will utilise its powers to gather evidence and where warranted, use this evidence to bring cases before the courts. IFI has previously taken successful prosecutions in such cases. Inland Fisheries Ireland is empowered to undertake a variety of different types of protection patrols and inspections on different types of water bodies at different times of the year, as part of preventative measures to avoid pollution incidents on our rivers and lakes.

In the immediate aftermath of this incident, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has written to Uisce Éireann on this matter, as the Deputy inquired. There was previously a serious incident at the Freemount water treatment plant in August 2022, which was investigated by the EPA with specific findings to be addressed at that point. The Minister had requested Uisce Éireann to develop an enhanced standard of environmental protection in consultation with both the IFI and the EPA. The Minister will be meeting the CEO of Uisce Éireann on this matter in the coming weeks.

The Deputy raised the issue of an EPA prosecution. Based on case studies and precedent, that is more a matter for the IFI. However, it would be the EPA's responsibility to work with the various actors to ensure that this does not happen again, as well as finding out how it happened and to put in the preventative measures.

As I have alluded to, Deputy Eamon Ryan is fully abreast of this and will be engaging with all stakeholders and statutory bodies, as the Deputy mentioned. Of course, it is important to note that there is an active investigation into this pollution event and further action, including potential legal proceedings, will be informed by the outcome of that investigation. As the Deputy will understand, it would be remiss of me to go further than that in my reply.

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