Urgent need to repair Fermoy weir

The urgent need to repair the weir on the River Blackwater in Fermoy was raised in the Dáil by Sinn Féin Deputy Pat Buckley. This issue has been ongoing for more than ten years but has now come to the fore, he said.

“We have a very old rowing club based on one side of the weir,” he said. “It dates back to the 1800s. Rowers from this club have rowed in the Olympics. They will lose their sports club.

“The weir dates back more than 200 years but it has come to a point where this will have a huge effect. It is affecting people’s lives within Fermoy and the general area from Fermoy to Youghal. Cork County Council has accepted that the weir is in need of repair but said it is a funding issue.”

In reply, Minister of State Sean Kyne said Cork County Council is the owner of the weir in Fermoy, as the Deputy pointed out, and is the authority responsible for carrying out any works to the weir. “There has been ongoing liaison between my Department, Inland Fisheries Ireland and Cork County Council to advise how any proposed works can be consistent with fisheries and environmental obligations, particularly the EU Habitats Directive. Compliance with the directive is the key issue,” he said.

A number of options were considered by the engineering advisers and the primary consideration in agreeing the proposals was that they meet the requirements of the EU Habitats Directive, he said. This is especially important for the free passage of wild salmon, a species included in the directive.

“The IFI regional director and senior officials of the Department met the Council on Wednesday, Novembe 29r, 2017. The Council advised that it is engaged in land acquisition to facilitate the permanent works. This is a matter for the Council and, in the meantime, the Department has agreed to the council’s temporary repair proposals for the weir. At the November meeting, Department officials requested an indicative timeline on the Council’s proposals for the permanent and temporary works. An update on this is awaited, following which the senior officials will again meet the Council.”

He said he understood from Irish Water that the procurement process for the construction contract is under way. “Irish water aims to be in a position to award the construction contract in the first half of 2019,” he added.