Vol. 480 No. 6
122 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if his Department has established the source of the pollutant which led to the fishkill on the Mulcair River in mid August 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14873/97]
In the immediate aftermath of the Mulcair fishkill and to ensure that the potentially complex factors involved are comprehesively addressed, I requested the Central Fisheries Board and the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board to commission a scientific investigation into the incident. The study, involving the University of Limerick, will provide a comprehensive assessment of the causes and effects of the fish kill and will inform fisheries pollution prevention strategies for the Mulcair catchment and elsewhere. The fisheries boards are currently completing consultations with the Environmental Protection Agency, Teagasc, the local authority and the farming organisations as well as angling groups in order to ensure the fullest co-operation and involvement with the investigative work by all the relevant agencies and interests on the ground.
The Department and the Central and Regional Fisheries Boards are also working to deliver on the action plan which I announced last month to ensure that the resources of the fisheries service and all relevant agencies are efficiently and effectively deployed and mobilised to prevent fisheries pollution, deal with the causes of pollution and incident response.
