Newry Armagh Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Environmental Fears Following Oil Leak

Published: 17 April, 2009

There has been a large oil leakage into the river Fane in the Cullaville area. Local waterways have been badly affected with fears for the salmon beds which local Anglers have warned may be destroyed by this seepage. Newry and Mourne Environmental Health department are aware of this spillage and have erected two barges to filter the oil out of the water. Authorities on the southern side of the river have also erected barges in an effort to rid the water of this toxic waste oil.

Crossmaglen Sinn Féin Councillor Terry Hearty has visited the Fane to see the damage for himself,

Cllr Hearty said, "Local people are naturally very angry that this has happened. The source of the contamination is not yet known but I would imagine that it is only a matter of time before it is traced back to the source. The worst part of this catastrophe is the damage to local wildlife which have their habitat at the Fane. In addition the Fane supplies water into Lough Ross which is where the domestic water supply in this area is drawn from.

Louth County Councillor and Sinn Féin EU candidate Tomás Sharkey also stated that he is extremely concerned as the Fane is also a tributary of the Stevenstown Water Treatment Facility which services the Dundalk area."

Councillor Sharkey explained that the Sinn Féin office in Dundalk recently had representations from anglers who were concerned about contaminations and said,

"The potential damage from this kind of oil leak is substantial, not only for flora and fauna but also for the human population of this whole area and beyond, everything must be done to find the source of contamination."

"It is unfortunate that such contaminations can continue to occur. Action must be taken by local authorities to bring and end to these occurrences."

"While I welcome the growing cooperation between authorities north and south of the border, there is still a lot of room for improvement."

"The level of cooperation between the relevant bodies north and south should be equally as good as the cooperation that local bodies have with each other on either side of the border."