Irish Examiner view: Rivers must be protected from development

River Blackwater in Fermoy, Co Cork.

The reaction of Fine Gael councillor John Paul O’Shea to the fact that development along the Blackwater Valley may have to be reimagined because of environmental obligations is, unfortunately, typical of the destructive culture that has done so much to change our countryside in the most negative, irresponsible ways.

A study has found that the Blackwater population of endangered freshwater pearl mussels is greater than was thought. That species has been lost to many rivers because of pollution.