There were calls at a meeting of Sligo County Council today for Irish Water to carry out a full survey of the sewerage system in the West Sligo village of Easkey to see if it’s fit for purpose.
It follows ongoing allegations of pollution of the Easkey River, which was a renowned salmon fishing river.
The calls today follow yet more protests outside the council headquarters this morning by residents from Easkey.
Residents from Easkey have been protesting outside the headquarters of Sligo County Council for the past few months as councillors arrive for their monthly meetings.
They are angry over a number of issues, one of them being the alleged pollution of the Easkey River.
Independent Councillor Michael Clarke has been telling Ocean FM News what the concerns are:
At today’s council meeting, Cllr Clarke claimed raw sewerage has bubbled up through grates on a hot day.
He called for a fit-for-purpose sewerage scheme be put in place and extended as far as Fortland.
Meanwhile, Cllr Joe Queenan said he felt the best strategy was to keep the issue low-key and try to sort out the problem.
He said the more publicity this gets, the more damage it’s doing to Easkey.
And he said he didn’t believe pollution was responsible for lack of salmon in the Easkey River.
Cllr Queenan added that there are ‘complicated issues’ in Easkey at the moment and the council CEO is trying to deal with them.
He said it was sad to see what is happening in Easkey and the losers will be the community as a whole.
He also said it was sad to see the protesters at the door ‘having a go’ at the council CEO.
It was damaging the image of Easkey and he felt it was time to ‘calm things down,’ he said, and he hoped all parties would take part in mediation.
CEO Ciaran Hayes said they had been trying to resolve issues away from the public eye.
He added that the main issue here was probably around ‘facts’ and he agreed some of the approach being taken was not in the best interest of Easkey or West Sligo.
Meanwhile, among the protesters outside the council today was Alan Spencer, of the River Easkey Angling Association.
He outlined his concern when it comes to fishing on the river.
