Calls to dredge parts of river Barrow in Laois
The River Barrow
THE river Barrow is in desperate need of a deep clean upstream from Ballyclare to Tinnahinch, the latest meeting of the Borris-in-Ossory/Mountmellick municipal district heard.
The motion was brought to the meeting by Fianna Fáil councillor Seamus McDonald, who had previously raised the issue of the river’s cleaning in 2024 and received a similar response. However, now to what the area office offered him then â that they would once again carry out an inspection of the stretch of the Barrow that Cllr McDonald had identified. In their response, the area office said the works would be first subject to appropriate environmental and ecological surveys being carried out and thereafter had to be costed to see if they fit within the budget.
The issue of a clean, well-dredged Barrow is acute for the many barges and general boat tour operators that ply the river as part of their trade and also for any tourists who are trying to navigate through the country's historic blueways.
In previous instances, several barges and boats have run aground along the Barrow due to issues relating to overgrown weeds and poor drainage, as this newspaper previously reported.
