No love lost between Enniscorthy and rare marine species as councillor calls for clean-up operation at River Slaney

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

While temporary works to protect Enniscorthy from flooding this winter are ongoing, the main scheme to provide long-term protection for a town which suffered more than most during Storm Chandra remain in the planning stage.

Those works will see the removal of the Seamus Rafter Bridge and the construction of new road and pedestrian bridges as well as further protection works in the worst-affected areas of the town.

Although Wexford County Council (WCC) remains confident this scheme will receive planning approval, the scars of the previous application in 2019, which was rejected for environmental reasons, have yet to fully heal.

That application floundered due to the presence of the freshwater pearl mussel in the River Slaney and ensured a place in the history books for that endangered marine species.

At the July meeting of the Enniscorthy Municipal District (EMD) Councillor Jackser Owens proved that there was no love lost between himself and the pearl mussel.

“Could we have the River Slaney cleaned?” he asked district engineer Neil Dempsey. “The plants in the central area are overgrown and it looks terrible when you’re coming into town.”

Informed that the section of the Slaney in question is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and that it’s difficult to carry out any clean up operations there, Cllr Owens suggested Mr Dempsey and his team could discreetly deal with a long-term enemy of the town if permitted to do the works.

“If you could take out the freshwater pearl while you're at it that’d be great,” he remarked.

A full application for the Enniscorthy flood relief scheme is expected to be submitted to the national planning authority in Q3 of this year with the overall cost of the works estimated at €51m.

In May of this year, €2.6m in funding was allocated to carry out interim flood relief works in Co Wexford. Those works will see an aqua dam installed on Shannon Quay and an earth bank constructed around The Waterfront Pool & Leisure Centre in Enniscorthy. There will be also be pump sumps – designed to collect unwanted groundwater, seepage, or rainwater – on both Abbey Quay and Shannon Quay. The Promenade will be protected with an aqua dam and an earth bank