A local TD has been raising the matter of sewage overflows in Westmeath.
A new government management plan will look to improve and protect waterways in the midlands.
Speaking in Dáil, Sinn Féin TD Sorca Clarke said some residents in Athlone are forced to live alongside the smell of fecal matter due to the overflow of sewers.
The Longford-Westmeath TD says, without meaningful powers and regulations around agricultural, industrial and domestic waste, the poor quality of our waterways will only worsen.
In response, her constituency colleague and Minister of State for Local Government, Peter Burke, committed to a more coherent approach to tackling pollution:
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