I thank the committee for receiving us. I also thank Deputy Hayes and Senator Mansergh for attending as representatives of the constituency. The issue we have come before you today to discuss is the depletion of traditional fishing grounds on the River Suir at Carrick-On-Suir as a result of illegal actions carried out by agents acting on behalf of South Tipperary County Council and Carrick-On-Suir-Town Council. The installation of an outfall pipe consisting of ten diffusers — which are vertical pipes about 14 inches high — and two buoys in the middle of the best fishing stretch of water locally has meant that three out of the seven sections known locally as hauls are now inaccessible and therefore cannot be fished. The committee members will see a photograph of the buoys on the back of their presentations and they are halfway across the river. The final photograph depicts ten diffusers lodged on the riverbed — the water from the sewage treatment plant emerges from these under pressure because this stretch of the river is tidal.
Snap net fishing has been carried out in the area since the thirteenth century and involves four men, a crew, in two small boats known as cots spreading a net usually 16m wide across the river at certain locations and paddling into the oncoming tide in search of salmon moving up stream. Two of the men handle the net while the other two paddle and steer the individual boats. The snap net operates on the basis that when it is spread across the river it opens like a woman's handbag with one weighted rope dredging along the river bed and the other rope controlling the net along the surface. When a salmon hits the net the ropes are pulled to close the net, or handbag, and trap it inside.
The fishing grounds in and around Carrick-On-Suir are tidal, despite being 40 miles from the open sea, which is very important in relation to the foreshore licence. They have been fished by generations of families as a means of subsistence to supplement other incomes. The town of Carrick-On-Suir is quite economically depressed despite the national economic boom and has 956 people unemployed which equates to almost 18% of the population of the town. All existing employment and economic activities in the area must be assisted and protected to prevent a total collapse of our local fragile economy.
The Southern Regional Fisheries Board issues 132 snap net licences annually. Of these, 68 are on the River Suir and 19 are issued to crews based in Carrick-On-Suir. In recent times, prior to the installation of these pipes, commercial fishing quotas had fallen dramatically and the season had also been reduced. However, the average catch in Carrick-On-Suir has been as good as, if not better than, other areas under the aegis of the Southern Regional Fisheries Board.
Local fishermen were alerted to the imminent threat to their fishing grounds when the matter was raised by representatives of the contractors on a visit to the proposed location on the river where the outfall pipe was to be installed. During these discussions it was made clear to the contractors that no pipes should be installed at this location as it would have a detrimental effect on fishing in the area. The local fishermen were assured that the pipes would be on the bed of the river and that the snap nets could glide over them without any snagging occurring. The snagging occurs when the net, moving down the bed of the river, catches the diffusers, which stand upright.
Despite this apparent assurance the snap net fishermen, through their spokesperson Mr. Frank Morrissey, expressed their concerns on the location of the outfall pipe, diffusers and buoys by way of correspondence with Mr. Ger Walsh, Town Clerk, Carrick-On-Suir Town Council, in November 2003. A reply was received acknowledging receipt of the letter and Mr. Morrissey was advised that the concerns were referred to Nicholas O'Dwyer Ltd., Consulting Engineers, for its views.
As a result of the matter being raised at the Fisheries Board by Mr. Peter Walsh a meeting took place between Mr. Patrick Kilfeather, Senior Fisheries Environmental Officer, Southern Regional Fisheries Board and Mr. Noel Keating, Bowen Civil Contractors for South Tipperary County Council on 20 January 2004. Mr. Kilfeather examined the proposed final outfall design and informed Mr. Ger Walsh in correspondence following the meeting, "that these proposals are wholly unacceptable from a fisheries point of view". He advised that the council may be liable for any loss or damage consequent on such fouling and requested that the council not proceed and instead install or have installed such diffuser arrangements as will not lead to fouling risk and damage as referred to. A copy of the memo was also sent to the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.
Mr. Neill Guha, foreshore section, coastal zone management division, Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources wrote to South Tipperary County Council and Carrick-on-Suir Town Council following receipt of correspondence from Mr. Patrick Kilfeather to advise that:
The council must not carry out any works which will impact on foreshore or authorise any person or company to do so on its behalf, other than those covered by the 2003 licence. Phase II of the scheme has not yet been licensed by the Minister and as such any works carried out in relation to it would be illegal. You are hereby notified if the diffuser outfall has not been licensed by Phase I all works must cease and the foreshore returned to its original state.
The outfall pipes, diffusers and buoys were installed into the River Suir despite all of the above warnings and instructions in early 2004.
The effect on the snap net fishermen since has been that three of the seven hauls in their fishing grounds have now become unusable. I refer the committee to a hand drawn sketch that illustrates this point. The sketch shows where the hauls are. They are the south haul, the north haul and the channel haul. The horseshoe is where the diffusers are located. None of these can now be fished because there is not enough time to either put down or take up the net. The river is not fishable from Carrick-on-Suir down to Waterford. Only certain sections of the river are fishable because of obstructions in the river because of the flow of the tides and the flow of the river itself. It is very important to note that.
A series of meetings has since been held to highlight the problem. The first was held with council officials and the contractors on 14 September 2004. Another was held with representatives of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, the Southern Regional Fisheries Board and the town clerk on 5 May 2005 at which the Department official advised that the foreshore licence was only agreed in principle but that none was issued to the local authority. We understand that is still the case 13 months on and that no licence has yet been issued.
The matter was raised in the Dáil by my party colleague, Deputy Broughan, on 5 May 2005, the day of the meeting in Carrick-on-Suir. During questioning by Deputy Broughan of the then Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Gallagher, it was accepted by the Minister of State that "the Council should not have commenced outfall work on the foreshore until the foreshore licence was in place and it was advised as such by letter in January 2004". The Minister of State met with a deputation in Carrick-on-Suir and the case was again outlined to him following which he agreed to re-examine the issue. In a reply to a follow-up parliamentary question tabled by Deputy Broughan in recent weeks, the current Minister of State with responsibility in this area, Deputy John Browne, stated that the problem was localised and minor and that he did not consider that any action in relation to the location of the outfall pipe, diffusers and buoys would be warranted.
The traditional fishing rights of local fishermen have been breached and almost half of their fishing grounds have been put out of use. This point was accepted by the Minister in his Dáil reply but no action is proposed at this time. We are clearly stating that the resolution to this problem is to move the outfall pipe, diffusers and buoy approximately 100 m downstream of the fishing grounds to a location that is not fished or fishable, compensate the fishermen for their loss of earnings since 2004 to the date of completion of the work or, alternatively, provide compensation for past, present and future loss of earnings resulting from the illegal action that has taken place. When we met Department and county council officials we put forward engineering solutions which were dismissed out of hand. If there is another engineering solution to this problem we are prepared to consider it.
There is an issue of natural justice regardless of compensation or any other remedial works. An illegal action has been carried out by installing these diffusers and buoys in the River Suir thus preventing fishermen from carrying out their traditional craft. This must be rectified. Ordinary citizens going about their daily lives in a lawful fashion are being affected by what is, in effect, an illegal development by the statutory body, South Tipperary County Council, that is charged with regulating planning in the county. On our way here today we passed a building which is very much in the news, the owner of which was told by An Bord Pleanála this week to remove it. We are in a situation where a statutory body is preventing the men alongside me from fishing.
We thank the Chairman and the committee members for their time. We note and take an interest in the work of this committee. It addressed the issue of the weir on the River Nore in County Kilkenny in which Mr. Peter Walsh, as a member of the Southern Regional Fisheries Board, has an interest. It also addressed the issue of communications in the Black Valley. We, therefore, believe this has been a perfect opportunity for us to address this committee and get results. We are available to answer any questions that any member might have.
