I am obliged to the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Deputy Allen, for coming here this evening for this matter which is important not only for the people of north Tipperary, Clare and Galway, which adjoin Lough Derg, but also for our tourism industry. I am happy to have the opportunity to highlight the importance of dealing with this unique natural asset, Lough Derg, and the need to save it from the consequences of pollution from a variety of sources. I am not making a political point because I do not expect any Government, much less this Government which only came to office six months ago, to suddenly wave a magic wand. However, I hope the Minister can show evidence of action which, in my view and the view of those who reside near Lough Derg, should have been taken a long time ago to save this precious asset.
I was happy to support the Tourist Traffic Bill, 1995, in the House today, but I said it was important to protect and enhance the unique characteristics of Ireland and that anything which would allow pollution of our waterways or degrade what is precious and unique in Ireland would be the worst possible outcome in terms of tourism promotion. That is why I want to highlight what is happening in Lough Derg — Loch Deirgeirt, as it is known in Irish — which is a great natural feature of our waterways.
I base my case on two facts. This problem became increasingly evident in recent years, although it first emerged 25 or 30 years ago. The level of pollution from waste of one form or another was such as to prompt the environmental research unit of the Department of the Environment to issue a report two or three years ago laying out clearly what was required to save the lake from destruction. Because of the lack of action in the interim, a group of people of all political persuasions, activities and vocations organised a campaign called Save Our Lough Derg or SOLD. There was and is nothing political about what they are highlighting. They wanted the recommendations of the environmental research unit of the Department of the Environment to be implemented as a matter of urgency. They did not dream up the recommendations; they saw the problems.
The environmental research unit, in conjunction with Teagasc, pointed out that these remedial measures should proceed on all fronts, including municipal control and regulation of agricultural nitrates and enriched phosphates, household detergents and silt from the Bord na Móna operations on the Shannon. The beautiful lake of Lough Derg is a receptacle for all that flows through the tributaries. This enrichment is a great cause of concern because it is now at crisis point. The report said that 1995 would be the crunch year and that serious damage would be caused to the fish and wildlife. Action must be taken on its recommendations.
I regret that no action has taken place on any of the fronts recommended by the environmental research unit. As a result, a deputation from this representative group, which was a spontaneous expression by the people of Clare, Limerick and north Tipperary in particular, met the Minister for the Environment, Deputy Howlin, early this year. He told the deputation that an announcement regarding £30 million from the European Union, which the Government had negotiated, would be made in early May. He also said that the programmes and funds for dealing with the problem would be announced and implemented from that date. Within a few weeks, in answer to a question by Deputy Quill in the House, that date became early June. However, no announcement has been made to date and it is now late June. One can see how serious the condition of Lough Derg is, particularly in these weather conditions when there are fish kills in all our rivers. No recommendation of the official report has been implemented.
One move which has taken place recently is the announcement of a tertiary treatment plant in Athlone. The lack of treatment plants and major sewage facilities in the towns along the Shannon has always been a big issue. This programme was launched within the past two or three weeks. However, the efficiency test has not yet been conducted. I would be happy if the Minister told me it has been undertaken, even since the announcement of the launch of that plant, because an efficiency test must be carried out before such an operation can begin. There could be a problem as regards training staff to operate the treatment plant properly, which applies at the lower end of the river in Ballina, the twin town of Killaloe. Ballina is on the Tipperary side of the border and the Lakeside Hotel is located there.
I want the Minister to outline the outcome, if any, of the Government's discussions with the detergent companies because it has not been made public. No legislation has been proposed, much less introduced, to deal with this issue. This group has been told on more than one occasion — we respect it as the representative of all the interests on the lake shores — that action would be taken in this regard and that legislation would be introduced. However, nothing has yet been done.
I was involved in the negotiations when I was Minister for Agriculture, although I do not claim credit for this. Teagasc said it would introduce a pilot scheme for the management and control of fertilisers in the regions around the lake. A meeting was held in Nenagh with representatives of the farm organisations with a view to introducing a pilot programme to advise on the optimum spread of fertilisers. Fertilisers are often spread uneconomically from the farmer's point of view because they use more than is necessary and this has disastrous consequences for the water courses. I ask the Minister to outline, if possible, the latest outcome of the conference which took place.
Under the current legislation local authorities are entrusted with the responsibility to protect the environment and control and sanction penalties against those who abuse it, but in many ways they are the biggest offenders. I am not proud of the fact that the council in north Tipperary is unique in one sense. It must be the only administrative county in Ireland which does not yet have the benefit of a technician with specific responsibility for pollution control. From the sanction sought from his Department, is the Minister aware of any reason why that is the case? If it is possible to rectify that situation through his direction, I ask him to do so.
