Barry Clifford: No Land Is Unfettered

In 2013, Dairygold, that butter making company we all love, and whose turnover is over €780 million a year, was only fined €12,000 for ‘accidentally’ killing over 20,000 fish in the Kiltha River in east Cork. A mere irritant as a fly on a hot day for them and so the poor precedent of penalties for severe pollution goes on in this country.  

Within the past two weeks in Ireland two instances of severe lake pollution has happened and both by two red neck farmers that carry low moral character and very high ignorance in equal amounts. Farmers, so they often tell us, have a love of the land, they are in harmony with it, it is more than a job, it is a vocation and all that load of bolox; I’m afraid that love of ‘The Field’ does not extend to our countries lakes, rivers, inlets, and seas by many other farmers.

In Limerick last week, 650 salmon and trout died in the River Loobagh. The farmer who was the cause of this destruction dumped a lorry load of slurry into it. One fisherman said that it was the worst fish kill by deliberate pollution that he had seen in 37 years. There was a lot more to come around the corner.

More than another 1000 fish that included trout, sticklebacks and roach are among the dead in the Oona River in Co. Tyrone since yesterday, and this was also caused by another thick farmer, otherwise called an “agricultural source” by the environmental agency, and they have as much say as a fish and as much teeth in the matter as a set of plastic dentures.  

When and if these two ‘thickos’ are ever called to the bar of justice, the most that they will face is 3 month’s in prison or the fine of €25,000 (which is about 25 cows on a bad day) which stretches all the boundaries of optimism that they would actually face such a penalty. The reality is that these ‘thickos’ know the law is an ass and because of it they are encouraged to pollute with impunity as concern or conscience has nothing to with their state of mind. It is only when you hit their state of pocket with more severe penalties going all the way up to confiscating their land, and without compensation of it’s loss, will fear and doubt stalk their future attacks on our rivers and of the land itself.

No land is unfettered and these ‘red necks’ are not immune from the law and not even ‘the law of the land’ should be their defense of ignorance. Take away their ‘fields’ and you take away the problem.

Barry Clifford