Lack of funding and government support forces Oiled Wildlife Response Network to close

Pauline Beades, founder of the organisation, told the Irish Examiner the group can “no longer cope with a lack of funding and resources”. “It’s heartbreaking” she said. “We have tried desperately over the years to come up with some sort of funding framework.

“We presented at the national forum for the coastguard, and we suggested a very simple way of funding us. We weren’t looking for a huge amount of money.

“We wanted to pay two staff members and we wanted a plan for wildlife written in the legislation — that’s all we asked for and we got nowhere. Ms Beades said it would have cost in the region of €150,000 per year to fund an office and two staff.  "It beggars’ belief — we are not looking for millions”.

“So unfortunately, at the end of March we made the very sad decision to close up shop and wind down the organisation. We are only making the announcement now."

Former Harbour Master at Shannon Foynes Port, Hugh Conlon, of Shannon Estuary Anti-Pollution (SEA-PT) said “it’s very disappointing" that OWRN is closing. "They are an important service."

“They don’t come to light until a disaster happens, people tend to forget until it is too late.

Ms Beades said they had made the decision to close when their services were urgently needed. "Ironically, we had made the decision to wind down and then we heard that oiled birds were reported all along the east coast.

“We got involved of course with several groups including the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Kildare Wildlife Rescue and BirdWatch Ireland.

“We did whatever we could."  

In May, 150 birds were lifted by wildlife volunteers from an area that stretched from Skerries in north Dublin to as far as Rosslare in Co Wexford.

Several organisations received reports of a possible oil or tar substance on a number of beaches and seabirds with oil on them at the time.

Images of Guillemots and Razorbills covered in a black substance later hit the headlines as hundreds of wildlife rescuers combed the coasts, to try and save them.

Minister of State with responsibility for nature, Malcom Noonan promised a total of €50,000 to help with the incident which he said was "shocking and extremely concerning".

However, many wildlife volunteers have hit out at the investigation carried out in the aftermath which claimed there was “no evidence of pollution”.

While Wicklow County Council said: “The presence of oiled birds was confirmed on the beaches at Greystones North and Brittas Bay North." In a statement to the Irish Examiner, Wexford County Council said they carried out “extensive investigations” but found "No evidence of pollution" and "no source of contamination of wildlife".

The Department of Transport told the Irish Examiner: “The Coast Guard carried out aerial monitoring flights of the area and no spill was detected.” The EPA said while it was not directly involved in the investigation, "it had offered our assistance and support as required”.

However, both Bird Watch Ireland and Kildare Wildlife Rescue insist there was a serious oil incident and it "should be a wake-up call”.
Ms Beades said she is “deeply frustrated” at the response from the investigation.

“I’ve never seen anything of this scale. Birds were coming in for breeding season and then they hit the oil and got very distressed.

“Up to 150 birds were picked up, including the corpses of some. Several had to be euthanised because of their poor condition.

“Those who survived had to be cleaned in a specialised way. It can take up to two weeks for the entire process.

“It’s deeply frustrating when you hear that there was no contamination and no pollution. I know the coastguard sent a helicopter up, but we don’t know how far it went out.

“We need a plan to deal with an oil spill like this and to have a proper response."

And of the decision to wind down OWRN, she says: “Finally admitting that Irish authorities don’t care enough to give that little bit of extra support is heartbreaking."

“For me personally that is heartbreaking because I started this process and I’ve dedicated my life to it in many ways and it has been gut-wrenching from time to time and really stressful from time to time."

Brian Burke, Scientific Officer with Bird Watch Ireland echoed her comments.

“We know what happened” he told the Irish Examiner. “There was an oil spill and for every bird recovered many died.

“This was the worst oil spill in decades.

“There will be another one it could be worse; we need a national plan what to do with wildlife when that happens.

“Whether they found the source, there was an oil wildlife incident it was very serious and it should be a wakeup call”.

While Andrea Porter who rescued and transported some of the oiled birds said “Our coasts are vulnerable to the threat of oil spills and pollution due to our geographical location. “We’re at the apex of some of the busiest shipping routes in the world, particularly for the transportation of oil.

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“Therefore, it’s imperative that our waters and wildlife are protected from the devastating effects of oil pollution, particularly where spillages occur. 

"I’d be interested to see an investigation into the timeline of the local authority’s investigation as no evidence of pollution was detected and no source of contamination of wildlife was confirmed yet KWR have treated over 100 oiled birds from the east coast following the recent event.

“The aftermath was dealt with largely by voluntary organisations like Kildare Wildlife Rescue, OWRN and birdwatch Ireland.

“I feel Ireland needs a contingency plan for such events going forward, something OWRN has been fighting for. I’d like to see a commitment from the Government Minister responsible for the marine environment to provide stronger safeguards for our seas and a more timely response to such, in the event of damage to our wildlife and beaches”.