Laois rivers so clogged 'swans won't be able to stretch their wings' soon, meeting hears

Some Laois rivers are so clogged the ‘swans won’t be able to stretch their wings’ a council meeting was told.  

Fine Gael Cllr Willie Aird invited the Irish Fisheries Board to attend a meeting of Laois County Council. 

He tabled a motion, seconded by Fianna Fail Cllr John Joe Fennelly, asking, "that Laois County Council requests that representatives from the Irish Fisheries Board attend a Council meeting to inform this Council about criteria for removal of debris and cleaning of our waterways." 

“I just want those people to come here and explain to us what exactly do they want,” he said. 

Cllr Aird said he couldn’t understand why trees and debris can’t be removed from rivers despite “serious flooding” near waterways. 

“What trout want and what salmon want is fresh running water,” said Cllr Aird. 

“We are in a position to do the work but we can’t do it and there seems to be so much rules and regulations around it,” he said. 

Independent Cllr Aisling Moran described the condition of the rivers as a disgrace. 

“I can’t understand it. Every other EU country uses the same law as we use and we won’t clean out the rivers and they clean out the rivers,” she claimed. 

“There is rivers near me that you can actually walk across now they are so full of debris and silt and everything else,” she said. 

Fine Gael Cllr PJ Kelly also supported the motion. He said the rivers don’t look too bad at the  moment due to the water levels but he said the situation will be evident in a few months.

“The Barrow will be one of them that the swans won’t be able to stretch their wings, they’ll be that desecrated with dirt and leaves,” he claimed.