THERE are renewed calls for the removal of out-of-use structures at the Queen’s Gap and the eel cages along the River Corrib, following a recent meeting of all water safety stakeholders in Galway City.

A motion is to be brought before Galway City Council by Labour Councillor Niall McNelis, asking the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) to intervene and investigate the “serious safety concerns” posed by the disused structures.

Galway Fire and Rescue personnel are currently unable to access the river safely at these points. The eel cages are located beside the Salmon Weir Bridge, while the old salmon traps sit further downstream at Queen’s Gap.

According to Cllr McNelis, Inland Fisheries Ireland has been asked for several years to remove the metal hoarding, fencing, and eel cages, but no action has been taken.

“The metal hoardings at Queen’s Gap where salmon cages once operated serve no purpose and are extremely dangerous for the Fire Service,” he said.

“These out-of-use traps pose a serious health and safety risk in the river.”

Cllr McNelis highlighted one tragic case, where the body of a missing person could not be retrieved for a number of weeks having become embedded in one of the structures, due to the safety risk posed to rescuers.

The proposed motion will ask that the Health and Safety Authority will formally investigate the safety concerns at both Queen’s Gap and the eel cages and again call on Inland Fisheries Ireland to remove the redundant metalwork.

“We passed a motion a number of years ago asking for their removal,” Cllr McNelis explained.

“The eel cages are no longer in use. They should have been taken out when the new bridge was built. I want to ask the Health and Safety Authority to investigate how unsafe this is for rescuers.”

The issue was raised again following a recent meeting of all water safety stakeholders in the City, including representatives from Galway Fire and Rescue, the RNLI lifeboats, Claddagh Watch, An Garda Síochána, and Galway City Council officials.

“Every one of us was adamant that this needs to be done,” said Cllr McNelis. “We will be holding a follow-up meeting in December to keep pressure on this.”

“It’s frustrating how slow things move. It’s been almost a decade now,” he said.

“This is something close to my heart. Water safety in the city is vital. We have a young student population, a great nightlife, and unfortunately, a mental health system in crisis. We need to safeguard our waterways. It’s a small piece of a much bigger picture.”

Pictured: Danger: the disused salmon traps at Queen’s Gap on the River Corrib, off Newtownsmyth.