Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that this issue has very much been in the media over the past month, but I wish to raise the very serious matter of the recent pollution incident on the River Blackwater. It passes through the town of Fermoy, which I live in and represent. As the Tánaiste will be aware, the Blackwater is one of the largest rivers in Ireland. It covers a major part of County Cork and five mountain ranges.

The River Blackwater is a designated special area of conservation under the EU habitats directive and for such a recognised and protected area, its pollution in mid-August has caused devastation to roughly 40 km of river. The pollution of the river has resulted in huge losses of fish stocks with estimates of over 50,000 fish killed. Some are estimating it could result in the loss of up to four generations of salmon. I understand there are also fears among those who fish the river this event may cause the end of a self-sustaining population of salmon in the river, particularly if urgent remedial action is not taken. In addition, the knock-on effects for local businesses and anglers have been severe and I have met local tackle shop owners and proprietors of bed and breakfasts along the river who fear for their livelihoods due to the tarnishing of the excellent reputation of the river both at home and abroad. These business owners and longtime anglers have raised serious, legitimate concerns at the lack of information since the event.

I acknowledge a committee has been formed with a membership including Inland Fisheries Ireland and Cork County Council. I understand it has met twice to date, with the Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries, Deputy Dooley, chairing one of the meetings. However, here we are over a month later and details remain to be given. While it is quite obvious to all that this incident is not a natural disaster, we are still none the wiser about the exact cause of the pollution and the full extent of the river affected. We also have no further information whatsoever about the environmental irritant used or the number of fish killed. Given the urgency of this situation, which in my eyes should be addressed as one of the worst pollution events in the history of the State, I ask the Tánaiste to intervene to see the investigation is progressed and the exact facts and figures are brought to light as soon as possible. Establishing the root cause of this event is key to ensuring similar incidents of this nature do not occur in future.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague Deputy McCarthy for raising this very important matter. It is one that is of huge importance to him and his constituents in Cork East. We have heard about it across the country due to its significance and the concern it has caused to people for the reasons he has outlined.

I am glad to tell him a thorough investigation has been carried out over the past month into the fish kill incident on the Blackwater by an interagency group. As he said, it was established under the direction of the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, who I thank for his work on this. This group is being co-ordinated by Inland Fisheries Ireland and includes the Environmental Protection Agency, the Marine Institute, Cork County Council, the local authorities water programme, Uisce Éireann, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Health Service Executive. That gives an indication of the seriousness we are rightly attaching to this. Agencies have used all available resources to examine and monitor the catchment area. Extensive investigations have been carried out and all potential pollution sources in the area have been examined. The investigation included water and fish sampling, laboratory testing, site inspections, electrofishing surveys and habitat inspections.

Despite this very comprehensive sampling, testing and lab work carried out by the agencies, a definitive cause still has not been identified. Technical teams have concluded that as indicated by the results of the pathology testing carried out by the Marine Institute, the most likely cause of the fish mortality was exposure to some form of environmental insult or waterborne irritant, but no definite compound has yet been identified in any of the test results. Results from the comprehensive sampling, testing and monitoring carried out by the various agencies confirm no water quality issues have been detected, which is important for the local community, and the river remains safe for use, including for angling. Monitoring results from the Mallow treatment plant to date have also shown the water is safe to drink and I want to people with that information and to let them know the river will continue to be monitored closely. All agencies will continue to carry out routine surveys and inspections to identify potential risks both in the Blackwater catchment but also more widely across other watercourses. A comprehensive interagency report on the investigation will now be prepared. This will review the actions taken by all agencies involved and will include full and comprehensive findings from all investigations. I expect it will also make recommendations on further actions that can be taken in relation to prevention, compliance and incident response actions by the agencies as well.

This is a peculiar one in one sense because there has been so much work, so much sampling and no definitive answers, but I hope the assurances people have been able to give about water quality and the like go some way to assist the local community and, more importantly, that the river and the catchment will continue to be very closely monitored as well.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for his response. I appreciate efforts are being made to establish the exact details of this incident. However, I ask that all Government agencies and stakeholders he referred to work to the very best of their ability to ensure a full investigation is conducted. Appropriate action to remediate the current issues and measures to prevent further instances of pollution from occurring must be put in place. I also ask that a full review of the effects of the pollution on the wildlife and habitat on the river be undertaken. The pollution incident in August has caused untold damage from both environmental and economic perspectives to one of the most beautiful river basins in the country. We as public representatives must therefore ensure full details of this incident are made public. I also acknowledge the matter is to be discussed by the Oireachtas joint environment committee at the end of the month and I really appreciate that.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter because it provides an opportunity to put some of the information on the public record, which is important. His broader point is also important, that is, we need at the right moment when these reports are completed the publication of the information as well as the scrutiny of it at the environment committee. I am sure Cork County Council and councillors in the area will want to do likewise because this has caused significant concern and we do and must take all pollution events seriously. As the Deputy rightly said, this is at the upper end of that. It has also had a very significant impact on the stocks in the river and while I hear different figures and number, potentially tens of thousands of fish have died, based on visual observations, data provided by local stakeholders and scientific estimates. I am assured though that there are some healthy stocks present and therefore we expect that while it will take time for stocks to recover, they will and the river remains open for fishing as well. Full details will go into the public domain. We will continue to keep a very close eye on this and I look forward to the Oireachtas environment committee scrutinising it as well.