Fisheries body tells PAC of 61 incorrectly authorised pollution cases that cost €170k

One of the more serious prosecutions which had been instigated was a fish kill on the River Rye in Co Kildare which the committee heard had led to concerns being expressed 'by a lot of stakeholders' due to the case’s withdrawal. File picture: Inland Fisheries Ireland

The body charged with the preservation of Ireland’s inland waterways ran up a legal bill of more than €170,000 in prosecuting 61 incidents of pollution, some resulting in significant fish kills.

However, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) said that the 61 prosecutions, identified between March and June of last year, had been incorrectly authorised within the organisation due to a “technical issue”.