A senior Fianna Fail member called on the Government seriously to consider banning or severely limiting the use of phosphates in fertilisers and household detergents to limit damage to waterways, particularly the Shannon.
The second interim report on the water quality of the Shannon and its tributaries was the most damning report they could possibly have, said Mr Michael Finneran. It showed the total neglect and the abuse of one of the finest waterways in Europe.
This splendid river had been used as an outfall for "all our waste" over a very prolonged span of time. The sooner we acknowledged what we had done, the better would be the chances of taking successful remedial action. Local authorities, Bord na Mona, the farming community and tourism interests would have to shoulder the responsibility for the destruction that had taken place.
Senators were debating a report on Lough Ree and water quality in the Shannon estuary and its tributaries.
The Government would also have to take decisive action, said Mr Finneran. He suggested banning the use of phosphates in fertilisers and detergents.
His local authority had imposed a phosphate use restriction on one tourism outlet, and he wondered why this could not be done on a national basis.
He also urged that the establishment of a Seanad authority with responsibility for the river and its tributaries be given due consideration.
Mr Joe O'Toole (Ind) said a graphic indicator of the dreadful state of affairs was that earlier this year Roscommon and Westmeath County Councils had erected signs on the shores of Lough Ree - "the King of Lakes" - saying that the water was too dangerous to bathe in.
As a user of the Shannon for leisure boating he had gone to a lot of expense to get a craft with a holding tank in it. Trying to locate a facility to pump out the effluent was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
The idea that had been sponsored by ministers in the past of a Shannon River council should now be brought into being through the enactment of legislation.
The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, said the second interim report prepared on behalf of the Lough Derg and Lough Ree (Catchment Management) Group had identified sewage, agriculture, peat milling and industry as contributing to the pollution.
The report made a range of recommendations regarding improvements at specific installations, by-laws to be made under the Water Pollution Acts, and nutrient management planning in selected areas.
He believed that the catchment management approach represented the best method of managing our inland waterway resource. It was an innovative approach which deserved the commitment and energies of all the relevant State agencies and the other stake-holders.