asked the Minister for Local Government if his attention has been drawn to a report entitled "Polluting the Suir"; whether it is proposed to pipe untreated sewage from a new housing estate into that river; and if he agrees with the engineering view, reported to have been given before the Clonmel District Court, to the effect that the piping of such effluent into the river would help rather than harm the fish life there.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - River Suir Pollution.
110.
I have seen the report in question. While it is true that untreated sewage from a new housing estate in Clonmel will be discharged to the Suir, I am advised that the discharge from this estate, comprising some 118 houses initially, is unlikely to affect significantly the quality of the river. Provision has been made in the design of the new sewerage system now being constructed in Clonmel to allow for the connection of this housing estate to an intercepting sewer and thence to a treatment works, if circumstances so warrant in the future. In this connection I should mention that the river quality survey being carried out by the water resources division of An Foras Forbartha, the results of which are expected to be available by the end of this year, includes the River Suir.
I cannot comment on the effects of this discharge on fish life in the Suir.