Kildare County Council urged to prevent future fish kills in this area
It follows a fish kill report in the region which occurred earlier this year
A local councillor has appealed to Kildare County Council (KCC) to take action in order to prevent future fish kills in one region.
Labour Party Cllr Angela Feeney raised the matter at the latest Clane-Maynooth Municipal District meeting, which took place on Friday, September 4 last.
Near the end of the meeting, she submitted the appeal to KCC via a question, which read as follows: “Can KCC confirm what measures are in place to prevent a reoccurrence of fish kills in the rivers and streams in the Municipal District?”
In response, KCC issued a lengthy report to Cllr Feeney.
The report read as follows: “KCC’s Environment Department carries out work on an ongoing basis in a wide range of areas to protect and improve water quality in rivers and streams throughout the county.
“As part of this, the Environment Department actively investigates pollution complaints in accordance with the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977, as amended.”
KCC continued: “In a number of cases, pollution investigations require co-operation between departments within KCC and with outside statutory agencies.
“An example of this would be a recent pollution incident and fish kill on the Rye River in Maynooth where KCC worked closely with the Environmental Protection Agency, Inland Fisheries Ireland and the River Basin Management Service in responding to and investigating this incident.
‘NEWLY-ESTABLISHED PROTOCOL’
KCC further said: “The response to this fish kill followed a newly established protocol for the first time in County Kildare — the National Protocol for Coordinating the Response to Significant Fish Mortality Events in Freshwater, which was published by Inland Fisheries Ireland on 25th June 2026.
“The purpose of the protocol is to coordinate the response by each agency to ensure a timely response, a thorough investigation, and accurate documentation of significant fish mortality events to ensure a consistent and effective approach; this incident is still under investigation, so it is not possible to comment any further in relation to this.”
However, KCC also pointed out to Cllr Feeney: “It is important to be aware that fish kills, by their nature, tend to be sudden incidents which are impossible to predict so it is vital that pollution incidents and fish kills are reported to KCC as soon as possible so that an investigation can be carried out to determine the cause, if evident, and to prevent further pollution or negative impacts on aquatic life.”
“The public can also contact Inland Fisheries Ireland as they also have a statutory function under the Inland Fisheries Acts 1959 - 2010 and Water Pollution Acts 1977 and 1990.”
In addition, KCC noted: “It is also important to be aware that fish kills are not always caused by pollution; there are instances where fish kills can be caused by natural environmental factors.
“This is becoming more of an issue with climate change, and it is expected that climate-influenced events (particularly extended periods of hot weather and drought) that alter water volumes and influence water chemistry (increased water temperature, lower dissolved oxygen) are likely to play a more significant role in fish mortality events into the future.”
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