Co-op to pay €15,000 in legal costs following river ‘pollution' incident
The Kilkenny headquartered co-op has also been ordered to pay €5,000 to a local charity.
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) today (Tuesday, April 29) welcomed a court ruling on the water pollution incident – which took place on November 24, 2023 – and which impacted on the Knappagh River system, in Co. Monaghan which flows into the River Erne.
The case was heard at Monaghan District Court at March 26, 2025, and concluded on April 23, 2025.
The court heard from IFI that laboratory analysis of test samples showed that 'grossly polluting' material had been discharged into a wild brown trout spawning river.
According to IFI 'large volumes of white-coloured effluent from Tirlán's dairy processing facility in Lough Egish Business Park, Co Monaghan' were detected entering a tributary of the Knappagh River system.
Samples taken by IFI officers following the incident indicated high levels of organic material in the effluent that was 'toxic to fish, insects, and other aquatic life'.
The court was told that since the pollution incident occurred Tirlán has put in place a range of 'preventative measures, including regular daily monitoring and visual checks of the facility and adjacent watercourse, to guard against a future reoccurrence'.
The Probation Act was applied in the case on the basis that Tirlán agreed to make a voluntary contribution of €5,000 to a local charity.
In a statement issued to Agriland Tirlán said 'it is highly conscious of protecting the environs in which it operates and has protocols in place across all our facilities'.
'Tirlán was disappointed that on this occasion an accidental discharge owing to a technical pump failure occurred at the Lough Egish facility.
'As acknowledged by the District Court and Inland Fisheries, Tirlán acted swiftly to deal with the matter, took all corrective actions and put in place a range of preventative measures, including regular daily monitoring, physical visual checks of the facility and adjacent watercourse to guard against incidents of this nature,' the co-op added.
Pollution
According to Milton Matthews, IFI's north western river basin district director, the 'serious pollution event' had a significant impact on the brown trout spawning and nursery habitat within the Knappagh River catchment.
'This catchment is classified under the Water Framework Directive as being at risk.
'Tirlán has agreed to make a charitable contribution of €5,000 to the Bawn Community Group CLG to support the continued development and promotion of angling in the Bawn/Latton areas in Co Monaghan.
'This is a welcome support to this long-established local voluntary group,' Matthews said.
IFI has urged the public to report issues of concern relating to freshwater fish and their habitats to its confidential 24/7 number 0818 34 74 24.
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