A radical approach being used to protect key Irish rivers and lakes is to be extended to all waters, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, has signalled after two major fish kills within the past week.
The "catchment management" strategy developed in Ireland has impressed the EU, leading to the model being adopted elsewhere in Europe. It involves protecting a river system, for example, based on monitoring and protecting its entire catchment, and has already been applied to loughs Derg, Ree and Leane and the Boyne, Liffey and Suir rivers.
The move comes as fishery boards confirmed the damage caused by kills on the Carrowbeg River near Westport, Co Mayo, and the Triogue River outside Mountmellick, Co Laois.
There has been "a total wipeout" of fish in the Carrowbeg and a large volume of effluent arising from a ruptured slurry-holding facility has settled in the adjoining Carrowbeg Lough, an important wild brown trout lake. There was a risk of recurrent pollution "over a long period of time" if the effluent was disturbed, said Dr Greg Forde, assistant manager of the Western Regional Fisheries Board.
More than 300 mature fish were killed on the Triogue at a time when it was recovering from a kill last August. The source of the pollution has yet to be confirmed.
Speaking after opening an exhibition highlighting the need for water conservation and for maintaining rivers and lakes at the highest quality, Mr Dempsey said he was "committed to extending the kind of catchment initiatives already in place to cover all waters in the State".
The initiatives had shown that the only sustainable way to protect water quality was through a cross-community approach involving all sectors living or working within catchments.
Mr Dempsey said protecting the environment was "not just the responsibility of the Government or local authorities, it is everybody's responsibility". Reinforcing this approach would be an investment of £3 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure in the national plan, Mr Dempsey said.
The River Catchment Awareness Roadshow was organised by the environmental group Voice. It will highlight the value of Irish water resources and how people can help protect them. It will be based at ENFO in St Andrew Street, Dublin, before touring the Republic later this year.
Ms Iva Pocock, of Voice, said the exhibition would confront the high levels of water usage in the Republic by reminding people of water shortages around the world. She said each person in the State used 142 litres of water every day. Of this, almost half was used in flushing the toilet. Cooking and cleaning accounted for only 13.5 litres. "With growing water demand it is vital that low-flush toilets become standard practice, particularly in light of suggestions that Dublin will need to take water from the Shannon and Barrow in the next five years," Ms Pocock added.
The exhibition will suggest a number of ways in which people can reduce water usage, ranging from placing jam jars in toilet cisterns and placing the hot water tank near the tap, to using a compost toilet. More complex ideas, such as using "grey water" - domestic waste water from washing and cleaning - to flush the toilet will also be explained.
Voice also highlights ways in which people can reduce pollution. "The most important advice is to never flush old chemicals or paints down the toilet. Use phosphate-free detergents and washing-up liquid and ensure septic tanks are in full working order. These are simple rules which people can live by if they want to help protect their local river catchment," Ms Pocock said.
