Concerns raised at Kildare County Council meeting in relation to section of River Barrow

Concerns have been raised to Kildare County Council (KCC) in relation to one section of the River Barrow in Monasterevin.

Fine Gael councillor Kevin Duffy raised the concerns via a motion he submitted at the latest Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District meeting, which was held on Wednesday, September 18 last.

His motion asked that the council 'prioritises the dredging of the River Barrow Special Area of Conservation (SAC) between the Monasterevin Town Bridge to the Passlands Bridge as part of the 2025 program given the significant in river overgrown that is impeding the navigation of the river.'

The motion was seconded by Cllr Duffy's party colleague, Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer, and also found support in Social Democrats Cllr Pat Balfe and Fianna Fáil Cllr Brian O'Loughlin.

In response, KCC told Cllr Duffy via its report at the meeting: "Drainage maintenance works carried by KCC include: silt and vegetation management, aquatic vegetation cutting, bank protection, tree cutting, branch trimming, bridge and structural repairs, in specific drainage districts across the county.

"In-stream works with machinery are limited to the months of July, August and September."

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KCC continued: "Due to the width and depth of the River Barrow, its designation as a SAC and limited access to the riparian zone, standard machine maintenance has not been possible in some sections.

"To resolve this, KCC are piloting the use of a weed cutting boat on the Barrow this year.

"Similar boats are used by Waterways Ireland.

"Weed cutting, when carried out over a number of years, may reduce the likelihood of vegetation regrowth."

KCC concluded: "The boat is currently working close to Dunrally Bridge (see photos) and is scheduled to move to
Monasterevin in mid-September."

A representative of KCC who was present at the meeting also told Cllr Duffy that if he had any more concerns, that they would take them to a KCC engineer.

Fine Gael Cllr Kevin Duffy. Photograph credit: Facebook.